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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ CRIME

New office to tackle IPR

A branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office authorized to handle cases related to violations of intellectual property rights was activated yesterday, a spokesman for the Prosecutors Office said. The branch office — to be initially manned by four prosecutors and four clerks — was established as part of the arrangements for the nation’s first Intellectual Property (IP) Court, which will be inaugurated on Tuesday, the spokesman said. The branch office will mainly be responsible for investigating and prosecuting individuals or companies who have allegedly violated intellectual property rights, patent rights, copyrights or the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法), the spokesman said. The Taiwan IP Court will handle lawsuits and administrative litigation related to violations of intellectual property rights. Eight judges and nine technical examiners will staff the court.



■ SOCIETY

Pingtung church gets funds

A 150-year-old Catholic church in Pingtung County has raised enough money to give the Wan Chin Basilica a facelift thanks to the compassion shown by Pingtung residents, parish priest Ruben Mardinec said yesterday. Mardinec thanked county residents for donating NT$764,000 (US$25,132) — enough to help the church meet the rest of the NT$1.9 million bill for the project. The Pingtung County Department of Culture helped the basilica apply for a grant for the project last year from the Council for Cultural Affairs. The council agreed to provide NT$1.136 million to renovate the basilica, which is rated a grade three historic site. A fundraising campaign was launched in April to make up the balance. Church authorities want to whitewash the basilica’s walls, restoring them to their original look.



■ POLITICS

NCU maintains decision

National Chengchi University (NCCU) yesterday upheld its decision not to renew former Ministry of Education secretary-general Chuang Kuo-rong’s (莊國榮) teaching contract. NCCU chancellor Wu Si-hua (吳思華) said the university made the decision based on the school regulation that “teachers should not harm the school’s reputation.” Chuang sparked controversy during the presidential campaign in March, when he used a profanity to imply then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) late father had a salacious relationship with his goddaughter. NCU made a preliminary decision earlier this month not to renew Chuang’s contract.



■ SOCIETY

TGDA wins scholarship

The Taiwan Guide Dog Association (TGDA) has won a scholarship from the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) to help breed, nurture and train young guide dogs at an overseas training school, a TGDA official said yesterday. A delegation attended the IGDF Conference 2008 held in London last month, during which the TGDA was awarded a Derek Freeman Scholarship, a TGDA spokeswoman said. The scholarship was granted to Taiwan because it has produced exceptional guide dogs capable of dealing with “Taiwan’s very special traffic conditions and highly challenging environment for guide dogs to work and live in,” she said. The amount of the scholarship and how it will be used will be decided after TGDA secretary-general William Chen (陳長青) returns from a visit to a dog school in France, she said. Founded in 1989, the IGDF has a membership of 84 guide dog associations from around the world. The TGDA became a full member in 2002.


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