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Taiwan News Quick Take

¡½ DIPLOMACY

Ma itinerary unchanged

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (°¨­^¤E) upcoming trip to Central American remains unchanged despite rising tensions in Honduras, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (¤ý­§µa) said yesterday, adding that the government is continuing to observe developments in the Central American ally. Ma will make state visits to three Central American countries tomorrow. The purpose of the trip is to attend the inauguration of Panamanian president-elect Ricardo Martinelli on Wednesday. The trip will also take Ma to Nicaragua and Honduras. Earlier this week, the Presidential Office changed Ma’s travel plans and delayed Ma’s visit to Honduras by one day. The Presidential Office said the delay was to take into consideration that Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya may still be out of the country the day Ma was originally scheduled to arrive, despite Zelaya’s pledge that he would have returned by then. Tensions are rising in Honduras after Zelaya ignored a court order to reinstate the army chief. Zelaya fired General Romeo Vasquez after he refused to help with a referendum on constitutional change that could allow Zelaya to seek a second term.



¡½ SOCIETY

TRA, CPC hold job tests

The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) and CPC Corp, Taiwan (¤¤ªo¤½¥q) yesterday held tests to recruit new employees, with a massive number of applicants vying for the few openings. The state-run oil company was to recruit entry-level technicians through this year’s test. A total of 17,933 people took the test this year, but only 198 of them will be accepted. The starting salary for entry-level technicians is NT$26,000. A second test was held yesterday for those who have already passed written tests. TV footage showed applicants being asked to climb up and down the stairs of a 20m high platform within 90 seconds. They had to stand on top of the platform for about 10 seconds before climbing down in order to secure a passing grade. Meanwhile, approximately 29,000 people registered for tests at the TRA and competed for 445 positions that are available this year. The acceptance rate was about 1.5 percent.



¡½ CULTURE

Artist workshop opened

The Taipei Artist Village, a non-governmental artist community run by the Taipei Culture Foundation, yesterday launched its first “FunArts?Artist Workshop in Grass Mountain Arts Village in suburban Taipei. “Leave the complex city behind, concentrate on the needles, feel the art, enjoy a moment of silence,?the Villare urged the public in a press release. An embroidery workshop was held on Friday and will be held again on July 11 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at 92 Art Center, Grass Mountain Arts Village. Discounts of 10 percent will be offered to people who hold a Children’s Arts Festival Passport.



¡½ DIPLOMACY

European camp restarted

Taiwan will restart a two-week camp for European youths and adults between the ages of 18 and 40 after a near 10 year hiatus. One hundred openings are available for the program. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commissioned the China Youth Corps to organize two workshops from July 28 to Aug. 10 and between Aug. 18 and Aug. 31 in Taipei to give the participants a better understanding of Taiwanese. Anne Hung (¬x¼z¯]), director-general of the ministry’s Department of European Affairs, said the program aims to deepen the European youths?understanding of Taiwan and to increase interaction among young people on both sides.


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