■ POLITICS
DPP to name nominee soon
The Democratic Progressive Party will name its nominee for the Hualien County commissioner race within two weeks, Campaign Strategy Unit director Su Chia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said yesterday. Su, a former interior minister, and former DPP legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who currently heads the party’s International Affairs Division, have moved their household registrations to the eastern county to gain residency to run in the election. Speaking at a press conference, Su said the party wants to give first priority to Hualien natives and will focus on recruiting local talent before giving the vacancy to out-of-towners. “If needed, the DPP will not rule out collaborating with candidates from other parties or independents who share similar ideals with the DPP,” Su said, adding that the party would decide on its nominee in two weeks. Su also lambasted the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for repeatedly altering its internal nomination process, saying it showed that the KMT underestimates the wisdom of Hualien residents because it was counting on winning the race no matter who it nominates.
■ DIPLOMACY
MOFA to announce UN plan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to announce its annual UN entry strategy next month and all options are being considered, Paul Chang (章文樑), the director-general of the Department of International Organizations, said yesterday. The 64th UN General Assembly is scheduled to begin on Sept. 15. In the past, the ministry would unveil its entry strategy in August. Last year, instead of vying for full UN membership, Taiwan asked the member-states to consider Taiwan’s meaningful participation in specialized agencies within the global body.
■ TOURISM
Alishan reaches milestone
Alishan in Chiayi County welcomed its 1 millionth visitor of the year, the Alishan National Scenic Area reported yesterday. Tsai Wei-shuan (蔡維軒), who is from Keelung but now works in Kaohsiung City, became the millionth visitor to Alishan this year when he made his first-ever trip to the alpine resort with his friends. Since it opened in 1976, the Alishan National Scenic Area had never managed to draw 1 million visitors in a single year. The number reached about 990,000 in 2006 and 950,000 in 1983, but has averaged between 600,000 and 800,000 per year. Tsai, who was elated to be the millionth visitor, was showered with gifts by the Chiayi Forest District Office. He was given an MP3 player, a video camera, a digital camera, a bicycle and a free night’s stay at the Alishan House.
■ SCIENCE
Chemists become fellows
Three Taiwanese chemists were elected in June as fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK, indicating worldwide recognition of Taiwanese research achievements, a dean at National Taiwan University (NTU) said yesterday. The three — Peng Shie-ming (彭旭明) and Chou Pi-tai (周必泰), professors at National Taiwan University’s Department of Chemistry, and Cheng Chien-hong (鄭建鴻), a professor at National Tsing Hua University’s Department of Chemistry — are now fellows of the largest organization in Europe for the advancement of chemical sciences. Every year, the Royal Society selects as fellows 10 chemists from around the world who have made significant contributions in the field of chemistry and applied chemistry, said Lo Ching-hua (羅清華), dean of the College of Science at NTU.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods