■ GOVERNMENT
Miaoli officials criticized
The Control Yuan yesterday upbraided the Miaoli County Government for its handling of fireworks factories, which have seen 32 casualties in five years, the highest in the country. After examining documents kept by the county government, the National Fire Agency and the Miaoli Prosecutor’s Office and questioning officials, Control Yuan member Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) said the government had failed to clamp down on illegal factories and had not tightened safety regulations for manufacturers. The government also disregarded information on the importation of 21,000kg of potassium chlorate, 30 times the permissible amount, he said.
■ POLITICS
DPP rally on the way
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will stage a large demonstration against China late this month or early next month to coincide with the arrival of Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said yesterday. “The DPP will stage a large-scale protest against China to express the people’s strong desire to protect and underline Taiwan’s independent sovereignty around the time when Chen Yunlin visits Taiwan,” he told a news conference. Cheng accused President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of falling short of safeguarding Taiwan’s sovereignty in the face of continuing suppression by China. He also said DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would not attend tomorrow’s National Day celebrations at the Presidential Office if Ma failed to “correct” his rhetoric on cross-strait relations. Ma recently described cross-strait ties as not being state-to-state in nature. “It is pointless to celebrate the Oct. 10 National Day should Taiwan’s popularly elected president not dare to recognize that the country is an independent sovereign [state],” Cheng said.
■ TELEVISION
NCC announces change
The National Communications Commission said yesterday it would soon include representatives from civic groups on the committee that does preliminary reviews of TV channel applications for license renewals. Commission spokesperson Lee Ta-sung (李大嵩) said the policy would focus on the review of news channels and children’s and youth channels, because their programs can “have a profound influence on society.” The purpose of the change is to reinforce the functions of the committee, Lee said, adding that the commission would work on the plan this week. The commission will draw up guidelines for the qualifications and rights of participating civic groups and the ideal number of representatives from civic groups for the committee. The commission said it would not ignore the fact that some civic groups may have preferences for a certain political party.
■ CRIME
Baseballers questioned
Ten people were questioned in Taipei yesterday after their homes and offices were searched over their alleged role in a match-fixing scandal, officials said. Three players from the dmedia T-Rex team, four team management officials and three bookies were brought in for questioning, said a court spokesman in Banciao (板橋), Taipei County. Prosecutors raided 22 locations linked to the suspects earlier in the day, he said. The prosecutors suspect T-Rex management colluded with players and bookies to fix league games. The T-Rex was formerly called the Macoto Cobras, but was renamed earlier this year after being taken over by dmedia Corp.
■ MUSIC
Jazz fest to attempt record
The 2008 Taichung Jazz Festival opens in the central city next Saturday, with 20 to 30 famed saxophonists from home and abroad to perform. At the opening of the nine-day festival sponsored by the city’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, 1,000 musicians are expected to team up to perform popular music on the saxophone at the bustling City Square in the city’s West District, said Mark Huang (黃國榮), the bureau’s director-general. They will be attempting to break the record cited by the Guinness Book of World Records for the most sax players performing at once, which currently stands at 900, a record set in Toronto, Canada, on March 30, 2004, Huang said. More than 500 musicians have applied to take part in the Taichung saxophone performance, he said. Huang said the bureau will do more to publicize the record-breaking attempt and encourage residents who play saxophone to participate.
■ CRIME
Speaker released on bail
Taichung City Council Speaker Chang Hung-nien (張宏年) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was released yesterday on NT$5 million (US$156,250) bail in a bribery case. Taichung prosecutors are investigating a group of Taichung police officers on suspicion of involvement in helping an illegal pachinko store in the city. During the investigation, prosecutors discovered that Chang might also be involved. After Chang was brought in for questioning on Tuesday night, prosecutors filed a request with the court to have him detained. The request was later declined, with Chang allowed to be released on bail yesterday. Chang, however, may not relocate or leave the country during the period he is out on bail.
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
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
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