■ EDUCATION
Wang Dan to teach history
Wang Dan (王丹), one of the student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests, has been hired to teach cross-strait history in Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, a school official said. Wang will be a visiting scholar at the university from Aug. 1 to the end of February next year, Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), dean of the school’s Graduate Institute of Taiwan History, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. Wang will teach a class on China and Taiwan in the 1950s, Hsueh said. Wang, 40, has been living in exile in the US since fleeing China after the Chinese army crushed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in June 1989. He received a PhD from Harvard University last year and wrote a doctoral dissertation entitled: A Comparative Study of State Violence in Mainland China and Taiwan in the 1950s.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Volvo to recall sedans
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday demanded that Volvo Group recall all diesel sedan model XC70s sold before last August because its nitrogen oxide emissions exceed the national limit. The EPA said that whereas Article 5 of the Vehicular Air Pollutant Emission Standards (交通工具空氣污染物排放標準) states that nitrogen oxide emissions should not exceed 0.25g per kilogram, the Volvo XC70 emissions are at 0.28g per kilogram. This year’s XC70 model has passed EU emissions tests, the EPA said, however older versions sold from October 2007 to August last year — a total of 154 cars — have emissions that do not meet this standard and therefore should be recalled. Volvo will begin to contact the owners of the vehicles, the EPA said, adding that those contacted should cooperate with the company to help improve air quality.
■ POLITICS
Ma offers virtual tour
Anyone interested in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) day-to-day life can now log on to the Presidential Office Web site and Ma will give you a virtual tour of his office. As a part of efforts marking Ma’s first year in office, the Presidential Office on Wednesday posted a video featuring Ma offering the public a glimpse of the country’s center of power. During the 12-minute video, Ma shows viewers a bronze horse given to him by one of his supporters in Taipei, books that he recommends reading, Chinese calligraphy by Fu Shen (傅申) and Chang Ping-huang (張炳煌), paintings by a 228 victim’s family member, Liao De-cheng (廖德政), and works by physically challenged foot and mouth painter Yang En-dian (楊恩典). One of the photographs in the office that he particularly likes, Ma says, features him eating red bean cake, as his wife looks at him with a stern expression. Ma said her look is one that is familiar to him and that she must be thinking at that moment: “Why am I married to this man?”
■ DIPLOMACY
AIT closed for holidays
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) will be closed on Monday (May 25) in observance of US Memorial Day and on Thursday next week in observance of the Dragon Boat Festival, the AIT said in a press release yesterday. All AIT sections and offices, including the Consular Section, Commercial Section, Agricultural Trade Office, American Cultural Center and AIT Kaohsiung branch office will be closed for the holidays, the press release said.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
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