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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ MEDIA

"SET-TV pair indicted

SET-TV news editor-in-chief Chen Ya-lin (陳雅琳) and a reporter were indicted yesterday on suspicion of misusing archive footage in a series of special reports on major historical protests. Prosecutors said the pair were charged with violating the Copyright Law (著作權) for misusing a documentary on farmers' protests by Lee Chun-fa (李春發). The indictment follows the failure of the TV station and Lee to settle the case out of court. SET-TV and Chen Ya-lin were also accused last year of misusing other footage in special reports on the 228 Incident that were broadcast last March. Juan Mei-shu (阮美姝), the daughter of a 228 Incident victim provided the footage that SET-TV was accused of misusing. The station apologized for failing to clarify the source of the video clips, thereby misleading viewers into believing the clips were from the incident.



■ POLITICS

Chiang in-law cuts KMT jobs

Chiang Fang Chih-yi (蔣方智怡), a daughter-in-law of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), resigned her post in the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Central Standing Committee yesterday after her son criticized former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰). She also resigned as a member of the Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) branch during yesterday's Central Standing Committee meeting. She apologized to committee members and left after offering her resignation. Demos Chiang (蔣友柏) said in his blog on Sunday that Lien had harmed democracy in Taiwan by refusing to concede defeat after the 2004 presidential election and demanding the election be annulled. On Tuesday, Chiang Fang apologized for her son's criticism. KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) said the party would try to persuade her to stay on the committee.



■ ENVIRONMENT

Tree planting drive launched

The Council of Agriculture has renewed its drive to promote the planting of trees as part of the nation's efforts to be a responsible member of the global village. The idea is to encourage every citizen to plant at least one tree in his or her lifetime, senior officials said yesterday. The "One Life, One Tree, for a Motherland of Green" campaign will use 12 kinds of trees corresponding to the 12 signs of the zodiac in the hopes that people will plant a tree corresponding to their zodiac sign on their birthday. The council wanted to persuade at least half of the population to plant their own trees within five years. Council of Agriculture Minister Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) estimated that if all 23 million Taiwanese follow the call, it will raise the nation's forest coverage by 59.09 percent, reducing carbon emissions, producing oxygen and retaining water that could be worth billions of dollars.



■ CULTURE

Taichung arts festival set

Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) yesterday invited art lovers from around the country to visit the Taichung Traditional Arts festival, which opens tomorrow and runs through Feb. 24. The festival will feature plays, operas and folk art activities, as well as an arts market, Taichung City's Cultural Affairs Bureau said. More than a dozen drama troupes from around the country will take part. Bureau officials said one highlight of the festival will be an attempt on Saturday to stage the biggest-ever erhu performance. More than 200 people have already signed up to perform, the officials said, adding they may seek to set a Guinness world record for the most people performing on the two-stringed Chinese instrument at one time.
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