■ DIPLOMACY
Visa exemptions granted
Five more European countries have been exempted from visa requirements to promote trade and tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The countries are Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania and Estonia. Their citizens will be allowed to stay up to 30 days in Taiwan without applying for a visa, the ministry’s Bureau of Consular Affairs announced on its Web site. The visa-exemption measure became effective for Poland, Slovakia and Hungary on Oct. 1, for Lithuania last Saturday and will come into effect for visitors from Estonia on Monday. So far, Taiwan has extended visa exemptions to 36 countries in the hope that they reciprocate the arrangements for Taiwanese visiting their country. More than 50 countries have exempted Taiwan from visa requirements, allowing Taiwanese visitors to remain in the country from as little as seven days up to as much as 90 days.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Taiwan, China to host forum
Taiwan and China will co-host a forum on creating a paper-free trade environment next year in Taipei under the APEC framework, Bureau of Foreign Trade Director-General Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) told a press conference yesterday. APEC has agreed to grant US$200,000 to support the event and Taiwan has been highly praised by many countries for efforts made to cut down on the use of paper, Huang said. Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) and Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) briefed the Cabinet on their participation at the APEC ministerial meeting in Peru. They told the meeting that “the interaction between Taiwan and China under the APEC framework has been heading in a positive direction.”
■ HEALTH
Virus hits Taipei schools
Taipei City’s Education Department urged students and parents to remain cautious after classes in three elementary schools were shut for 10 days this week because of enterovirus infections. A total of 214 confirmed enterovirus cases have occurred in Taipei, chief secretary of the department Lin Shin-yao (林信耀) said. As the enterovirus infection cases were expected to increase during the fall and winter seasons, Lin said the department had already asked schools to step up disinfections. In addition to the disinfection of all classrooms in schools, Lin said the department would also join forces with the city’s health department to continue monitoring the situation in order to prevent any enterovirus epidemic from occurring.
■ AGRICULTURE
Promotional event opens
A promotional sales event for the nation’s top 100 agricultural and fishery products is taking place at the National Taiwan University Arena until Sunday, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday at the opening ceremony. The event is part of the “Made in Taiwan is Best” series of events, COA Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) said, adding that the products offered were selected from a list of more than 400 finalists and were of superior quality. Chen said the event would cater to small families and offer packages of an assortment of products, as well as wedding-related products targeting couples planning to get married. Consumers spending more than NT$1,000 were eligible to enter raffles to win prizes, such as vouchers for short breaks at hotels, Chen said.
■ CORRUPTION
Ex-prosecutor impeached
The Control Yuan yesterday impeached former Yunlin County prosecutor Hsu Wei-yu (徐維嶽) for taking advantage of his position to extort money in 2004. Hsu was given a life sentence by the Yunlin District Court in 2006, the most severe punishment meted out to a member of the judiciary for involvement in corruption. The Control Yuan’s statement said Huang brought false charges against Chen Chien-sung (陳劍松), alleging that a supporter, Chou Shih-lung (周世龍), bought votes for Chen in the 2004 legislative elections. Huang targeted Chen in a scheme to secure a reward for informants in vote-buying cases. Hsu had his brother’s girlfriend report fabricated information implicating Chen and Chou. Hsu then forced Chou to make a confession with threats, the statement said.
■ CRIME
Murderer granted parole
The Ministry of Justice yesterday granted parole to convicted murderer Hung Hsiao-hui (洪曉慧). Hung began her sentence on Jan. 14, 1999. She was a graduate student at National Tsing Hua University’s Radiation Organism Department when she murdered a classmate, Hsu Chia-chen (?u) in the lab on March 7, 1998, because Hsu was in love with Hung’s boyfriend, Tseng Huan-tai (曾煥泰). After killing Hsu, Hung poured the chemical aqua regia over her body. Hung dropped out of school after the murder.In addition to her prison sentence, Hung was ordered to pay NT$24.17 million (US$732,000) in compensation to Hsu’s parents. The ministry said Hung’s request was granted because she had completed two-thirds of her sentence of 16 years and three months. Furthermore, she has been cited nine times for excellent behavior in prison, the ministry said.
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
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
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
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