DEFENSE
Missile plan claimed
The government plans to develop a long-distance precision-guided missile that could strike military bases along China’s southeastern coast, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense has budgeted NT$30 million (US$1.04 million) for development, including the design of the missile bases and safety systems, Lin said. The ministry declined to comment on the remarks from Lin, who has made various claims over the years, some of which never materialized. Lin said the missile, along with several other homemade weapons systems, such as the Hsiung Feng (“Brave Wind”) 2E cruise missile, would be an effective deterrent should China use force against Taiwan.
IMMIGRATION
Vietnamese detained
A boat carrying 18 Vietnamese intending to enter the country illegally was intercepted off the coast of Greater Kaohsiung, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The boat was intercepted about 38km off Greater Kaohsiung at about 7pm on Sunday and its passengers were detained, the statement said. The passengers — 15 men and three women — told coast guard officers they had each spent tens of thousands of NT dollars to buy the boat through a brokering group. They set off from Guangdong Province, China, on Wednesday last week bound for Taiwan, they said. They were still being questioned at press time. Coast guard officials said they were tracking the brokering group that helped the Vietnamese buy the boat and arrange the voyage.
WEATHER
Potential storm gathering
The Central Weather Bureau yesterday said two tropical low-air pressure systems had formed over the Pacific Ocean, adding that it was too soon to say if the two systems would evolve into a typhoon or affect the country. One of the tropical systems had formed about 1,200km from the southeast coast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). The bureau said the system was moving slowly northwards and could develop into a tropical storm, adding it was closely monitoring its progress. In the interim, the bureau said the country would continue to see sunny to cloudy skies in the morning at least until tomorrow. Chances of afternoon showers are high, with daytime highs hitting 33°C and 34°C. Another system has formed off the southeastern coast of Japan, currently about 2,200km east of Taiwan, the bureau said. However, the bureau said the system was less likely to turn into a tropical storm because it was formed at a relatively higher latitude.
CULTURE
Performers close up festival
The Yilan International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame Festival ended on Sunday, with dance groups from eight countries giving life to Yilan’s culture through their performances. The 44-day festival attracted 527,035 visitors, said the Yilan County Government, which organized the festival. Performing at the closing ceremony in the evening, groups from Peru, South Korea, Thailand, Burkina Faso, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and Poland presented Yilan’s diverse culture, combining Taiwanese drama, clog dancing, local delicacies and kites in their performances. The groups also danced to the Yilan folk song An Old Train at the final curtain. After the performance, Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) led members of foreign teams, holding candles, on a park tour. The group spelled out the words “Yilan Touch My Heart” at the park’s plaza.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition