■POLITICS
No ‘push’ for raise
The Presidential Office denied yesterday that it had pushed for raises for the secretaries-general of the Presidential Office and the National Security Council (NSC). Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said that Presidential Office Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) and NSC Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) would respect the legislature’s decision on whether to increase their salaries. The legislature is reviewing a bill on political appointees’ salaries. Minister of Civil Service Chang Che-chen (張哲琛) said the raises were necessary because the salaries for the two positions were equal with those of the heads of other government branches. The legislature resolved in 2004 to lower the pay of the Presidential Office NSC secretaries-general to the level of government ministers.
■POLITICS
Ma to sign UN covenants
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is scheduled to sign two UN covenants tomorrow, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy said yesterday. The foundation is planning to hold a news conference today to urge the Ma administration to use the international conventions in amending the controversial Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法). The amendments to the act have raised tensions between the ruling and opposition parties, with the opposition vowing to block the amendments on the legislative floor. Ma supports the proposal but has asked the Cabinet to reduce the fine for violators. At Ma’s behest, the legislature on March 31 ratified the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights — 42 years after the nation signed them. The legislature also approved the Act Governing Execution of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (公民與政治權利國際公約及經濟社會文化權利國際公約施行法), making the two covenants legally binding. The Presidential Office has blamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the delay in signing the two covenants.
■PETROLEUM
CPC plans expansion
State-owned oil refiner CPC Corp is expected to further cooperation with the China-based Chinese National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), which will expand the range of their oil exploration ventures to cover the northern continental areas of the South China Sea, Ministry of Economic Affairs officials said yesterday. The two sides reached a consensus on the issue in March during a visit to Beijing by CPC executives, and are likely to sign the contract by the end of this year, the officials said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
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