■ DIPLOMACY
China-Africa summit
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it was closely monitoring the progress of a summit between China and west African states to be held in Beijing next month. Two of Taiwan's four African allies have been invited to the summit from March 25 to March 28, but neither Burkina Faso nor Gambia has decided whether to attend, said Liu Bang-zyh (劉邦治), deputy director of the ministry's Department of African Affairs. The meeting next month will be the first summit between Beijing and the 15-member Economic Community of West African States. Liu said although the conference would focus on economic affairs, Taiwan would neither encourage nor deter its allies from sending non-political officials but will keep a close eye on the event. Burkina Faso Ambassador to Taiwan Jacques Sawadogo and Gambian Ambassador Mawdor Juwara were not available for comment at press time.
■ TECHNOLOGY
S Africa, Taiwan cooperate
Technology diplomacy entered a new phase on Monday after the National Applied Research Laboratories' (NARL) National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) inked an agreement with South Africa's Center of High-Performance Computing (CHPC) to share resources in high-performance computing, technology research and development and talent. The signing ceremony was held at NARL headquarters in Taipei, with NARL president Joe Juang (莊哲男) and Liaison Office of the Republic of South Africa Representative Petrus Meyer in attendance. NCHC director Eugene Yeh (葉俊雄) and CHPC director Happy Sithole said the project's top priority would be to develop a virtual environment in which a concrete model for the construction of a high-performance computing network in South Africa can be simulated. Sithole said he was interested in learning about the NCHC operational model in Taiwan to build a similar computing network in South Africa.
■ China trade
Chen backs Hsieh's plan
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday voiced his support for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) proposal to grant amnesty to Taiwanese businesspeople who had defied a government ban on investing in China. "It is an old measure that was implemented in 1993, 1997 and 2002," he said. "It is not a brand new policy and has nothing to do with the election. We don't need to wait after the election to do what we can do today." As long as China-based Taiwanese businesspeople are willing to return home to invest, Chen said the government could be more lenient and more flexible in setting new regulations.
■ fisheries
Conservation plan launched
Owners of fishing boats in Kaohsiung will receive subsidies to encourage them not to fish as part of a new plan to conserve fisheries, the city government's Marine Bureau announced yesterday. With fuel prices rising and fishery resources declining because of overfishing and the effects of a cold spell on the marine ecology, it might not make sense for fishing boats to remain fully operational throughout the year, the bureau said. Owners of licensed fishing boats may apply to the local fishermen's association between May 1 and Oct. 31 to receive NT$8,000 per sampan, NT$10,000 per fishing raft and up to NT$100,000 per fishing boat, depending on the vessel's tonnage.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard