■ POLITICS
Beef poll clears first hurdle
The Consumers’ Foundation said on Friday it has collected enough signatures in the initial stage of a drive to launch a referendum on US beef imports, but added the biggest hurdle to achieving the goal still lies ahead. The foundation said it had worked with the Homemaker’s Union and Foundation, the John Tung Foundation and others since Nov. 1 to collect 132,402 signatures supporting a referendum to re-open talks with Washington on US beef imports. “The government should address consumers’ concerns and answer their appeals to ensure public safety,” a Consumers’ Foundation official said. Under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), a referendum proposal must pass two thresholds to be accepted. In the initial stage, 86,000 signatures must be collected — representing 0.5 percent of the 17.32 million people who were eligible to vote in the last presidential election. If a screening committee finds that the proposal conforms to legal guidelines, the referendum’s sponsors must then collect the signatures of 5 percent of all eligible voters in the most recent presidential poll.
■ COMMUNITY
Animal NGO hosts event
Animals Taiwan, an NGO focused on animal welfare and stray pets, will host a painting exhibition and sale today starting at 1pm at Bai Win Antiques Gallery in Taipei. The event will feature paintings by students from the Taipei American School, Dominican International School, Leeds Educational Organization and Wu Lun Elementary School who took part in last month’s “World Animal Day” painting contest. All proceeds from the sale will go to Animals Taiwan.
■ COMMUNITY
Fire training center to open
The world’s third-largest fire training center will be inaugurated in Taiwan in January, featuring advanced facilities for the training of firefighters and other rescue personnel, the National Fire Agency said. “When the center opens, it will be the major training base in Taiwan for our special search and rescue teams and regular fire fighters to get them into top gear in terms of ability, skills and physical strength,” the agency said. The training center, located in Nantou County’s Jhushan Township (竹山), is scheduled to be completed at the end of the year at a cost of NT$2.3 billion (US$71 million). The 109 hectare complex has a total floor area of 48,000m² and includes 49 fire simulation facilities and a dormitory for 732 people.
■ EDUCATION
Students’ union comments
Only 2,000 to 3,000 local students with diplomas from Chinese universities will return to Taiwan to seek accreditation under new rules in preparation for job-hunting, Taiwan Students’ Association deputy head Chen Cheng-teng (陳正騰) said yesterday. The government plans to recognize diplomas from 41 universities in China. Chen said that not many Taiwanese holders of diplomas from China would seek accreditation, even though an increasing number of students choose to study in China. He also refuted reports that 100,000 Taiwanese students have received diplomas from Chinese universities. The Ministry of Education recently cited Chinese statistics showing that prior to 2007, some 14,907 Taiwanese students had received diplomas from Chinese universities, he said. That figure, added to the 2,000 to 3,000 Taiwanese graduates this year and last, brings the total to no more than 18,000, he said. But not all of these 18,000 will seek accreditation, he said.
RSS