■ DIPLOMACY
City declares ‘Tibet Day’
Tibetans in Taiwan, Tibet activists and local political leaders will join a ceremony at Central Park in Kaohsiung at 11:30am, which will be followed by a parade through the city. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) will declare today “Tibet Day” in Kaohsiung during the event in the presence of representatives from several worldwide Tibetan organizations, the Tibetan Government in Exile’s representative Dawa Tsering, as well as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). A candlelight vigil to honor Tibetans killed in the struggle for freedom during the past 50 years will be held at 7:30pm at Liberty Square in Taipei.
■ POLITICS
Ma’s mind not made up
The Presidential Office yesterday said that officials have not yet decided whether to rename some of the building’s conference rooms following the name change of National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall. Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday said that his staff was still studying the possibility. Wang made the remarks in response to questions about a story in the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday. The report claimed that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had instructed the Presidential Office to change the names of 10 of its conference rooms in the near future. Some of the names under consideration were Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水), former Chinese governor of Taiwan Liu Ming-chuan (劉銘傳) and late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
■ POLITICS
Su may run in county poll
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said yesterday that former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) was likely to represent the party in the Taipei County commissioner election this year. Su, however, has declined to say whether he would enter the race. DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said Su had not made a decision on the commissioner race, but the party believes Taipei County — the country’s largest administrative region — would be key among this year’s city and county elections and was working to put forward its best candidate. Cheng also said the party was still negotiating among three hopefuls in the Tainan County election. The party has not yet come up with a single candidate for the county election, as two legislators, Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) and Lee Chun-yee, have expressed a desired to run, while former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) former Presidential Office secretary-general Mark Chen (陳唐山) has also said he would enter the race, whether the party nominates him or not.
■ DIPLOMACY
Taiwan extends loan
Taiwan has agreed in principle to allow Paraguay to defer repayment of a US$400 million loan that it granted to the South American diplomatic ally, Foreign Minister Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) said in Panama on Sunday. “However, the loan must be repaid,” Ou said at Panama City International Airport, where he was waiting for several hours before heading to the Dominican Republic. Ou said that before embarking on his current trip to cement relations with Taiwan’s Central and South American allies, he obtained an agreement from the Taiwanese banks that repayment of the syndicated loan made to Paraguay several years ago could be deferred for six months.
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