■ DEFENSE
Classified data mishandled
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday confirmed that a member of Military Intelligence Agency had mishandled classified information, but denied that the ministry was investigating the incident as an espionage case. The ministry made the remarks in a statement issued yesterday in response to a story published by Next Magazine. The magazine reported yesterday that Military Intelligence Agency director-general Ker Kuang-ming (葛廣明) suspected his deputy, Liu Ben-shan (劉本善), of leaking information, “which ended up in the hand of Chinese intelligence.” The report also said that Liu was given an administrative demerit for bringing classified information from work back to his home. “The individual concerned in this case has been punished,” the statement said. Further inquiries were met by “no comments” from the ministry.
■ SPORTS
Premier lauds athletes
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) presided over a banquet yesterday for the athletes and officials who represented Taiwan in the 25th World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. Taiwanese athletes won seven gold, five silver and five bronze medals in the Games. During the banquet, which was hosted by the Sports Affairs Council and the Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation, Liu congratulated the athletes and expressed hope that the Taiwanese athletes competing in the Hong Kong East Asian Games in December and in the 2010 Asia Games in China would bring honor to the country. The World University Games, which is held every two years, took place from July 1 to July 12, attracting more than 9,000 competitors and referees from 165 nations.
■ CHARITY
Artists to join charity fast
The Taiwan chapter of the Christian charity World Vision said yesterday that a record number of artists and singers had signed up to support its “30-Hour Famine Hero Rally” next month to raise money to fight hunger. Artists from major record companies such as Sony, Universal, AsiaMuse, Linfair, Warner and Forward, are preparing to support the event, which is part of the group’s global movement to involve people, especially youngsters, to fast for 30 hours to raise money for people suffering from famine in poor countries, World Vision Taiwan said. Now in its 20th year, the rally in Taiwan is scheduled to take place this year on Aug. 15 and Aug. 16 at National Taiwan Sport University’s multipurpose gymnasium and is expected to draw 15,000 participants, the group said. Artists who have pledged to speak up for the world’s hungry and committed themselves to appearances at the rally include Wang Lee-hom (王力宏), Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉), Will Pan (潘瑋柏), Sodagreen, Da Mouth (大嘴巴) and Rachel Liang (梁文音), the organization said.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Recycling contest opens
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is offering NT$600,000 (US$18,300) in cash prizes in an artistic design competition to promote garbage recycling, an official said yesterday. EPA Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) invited the public to join the online competition by submitting comic strips or videos on garbage recycling. Working on the theme of “recycling to zero waste,” contestants have a choice of four subjects: recycling categories; where to store materials awaiting recycling; innovative ways of using recycled materials; and the value of recycled goods. Entries will be accepted until Oct. 15, Shen said.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all