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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ CRIME

Man jailed over fire deaths

A man was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for urging neighbors to jump from a burning building, causing two deaths, local media reported yesterday. The man, identified by his surname Hsueh (薛), was convicted of manslaughter after an April blaze in Taoyuan County that trapped four people on the sixth floor of their apartment building, media reports said. Ignoring instructions from the firefighters, Hsueh yelled at the four, urging them to jump, the reports said. Two of them leapt straight to their deaths, while one was paralyzed and another severely wounded, they said.



■ TOURISM

PRC tourists visiting lake

More than 1,000 Chinese tourists will celebrate the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival at Sun Moon Lake, officials said yesterday. The festival falls on Oct. 3 this year. In anticipation of the occasion, the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration will put on a free lakefront concert and fireworks for visitors on the night of the holiday. Expected visitors to the area will include several groups of Chinese tourists totaling more than 1,000 people, who will gather at the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village for a party, then move to the lakeside to admire the full moon, Nantou County Government officials said. Officials said that the county's focus on promoting festival tours had produced good results. For example, a special package launched during the Lunar New Year holiday last year attracted more than 3,000 Chinese tourists, and approximately 2,000 Chinese tourists took part in the 27th mass swim across Sun Moon Lake on Sept. 20 — the highest number of Chinese participants on record, they said.



■ AGRICULTURE

Taiwan to buy US produce

Taiwan is expected to purchase US$3.5 billion in soybeans, corn and wheat from the US over the next two years under the terms of letters of intent sealed between the two sides on Thursday in Washington. Taiwanese representative to the US Jason Yuan (袁健生) said Taiwan is the US' ninth-largest trade partner and the seventh-largest market for US agricultural exports, with 95 percent of Taiwan's wheat imports supplied by the US. In terms of per capita consumption, Taiwan is the world's biggest consumer of US agricultural products, Yuan said. He said the visit by the Taiwanese delegation was a demonstration of the importance Taiwan attaches to economic and trade relations with the US, adding that he hoped the two sides would sign a free-trade agreement soon. The 22-member delegation is headed by Paul Sun (孫明賢), chairman of the World Vegetable Center. After leaving the US capital, the delegation will travel in two groups to various US states for field visits and meetings with local organizations and officials.



■ EDUCATION

TAS marks 60 years

The Taipei American School (TAS) celebrated its 60th anniversary yesterday with a birthday cake and students singing Happy Birthday at the school lobby. Aside from having a birthday cupcake for lunch, students also received a surprise birthday present — pencils commemorating the school's 60th anniversary. TAS was founded by American and Taiwanese missionaries, the school said in a statement. “Classes started at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary with only 8 students on Zhongshan North Road in the city on September 26, 1949,” the release said. “The school now has nearly 2,200 students representing 31 nationalities.”


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