EDUCATION
Ministry denies smoking ban
Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) yesterday denied that his ministry had instructed that smokers be barred from serving as school principals. Fielding questions at the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee, Wu said the Ministry of Education had no regulation prohibiting smokers from serving as school principals or superintendents. “Smoking is a personal choice. The ministry has not instructed that smokers be barred from serving as school principals or that principals should quit smoking,” Wu said, adding it is acceptable for teachers to smoke, as long as they do not smoke on school grounds. He made the remarks in response to questions by lawmakers about a media report on the matter.
SOCIETY
Former POW event planned
The Taiwan Prisoners of War (POW) Camps Memorial Society, in cooperation with the Canadian Trade Office (CTOC) in Taipei, is holding its annual Remembrance Weekend Event from Friday to Sunday, with 14 overseas guests, including one former POW, returning to Taiwan to attend the event. The event is held to highlight the story of the former allied POWs who were held captive on Taiwan by the Japanese during World War II and forced to work as slaves, and to ensure that what they suffered will never be forgotten. There will be a dedication of the new Taihoku Camp No. 6 POW Memorial on Friday afternoon in Dazhi (大直), the annual POW Banquet, to be held at the Imperial Hotel on Saturday evening, the dedication of new memorials in POW Park and a Remembrance Day Service on Sunday. Reservations for both the banquet and bus to Jinguashi (金瓜石) on Sunday can be made by calling Tina Wu at the CTOT on (02) 8723-3461.
CHARITY
NT$1.62m donated to Thais
Flood-stricken Thailand has received relief funds of more than NT$1.62 million (US$53,800) from Taiwanese and Thai nationals living in Taiwan, a statement released by the Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei said yesterday. In the statement, the office also expressed its gratitude to the government for offering assistance and an initial donation of US$100,000 a month ago, when the country was hit by its worst floods in 50 years. Half of Thailand’s population has been affected by the floods, which have had a significant impact on the agricultural, industrial and service sectors, the office said. It added that flood victims were still in need of relief items, such as small boats, tents, food supplies, rain boots and drinking water.
CRIME
Feng shui master deported
A Chinese fortuneteller and feng shui master was sent back to China yesterday after he was denied entry to Taiwan on Sunday evening because he worked illegally during his last visit. Li Jianjun (李建軍) was banned from entering the country for three years in May, after Taipei’s Labor Department discovered he had appeared on several TV shows without the appropriate permit, the National Immigration Agency’s Border Affairs Corps said. Immigration authorities added that despite being in possession of the correct paperwork this time round, he was still barred. His schedule showed that he took a flight from Taiwan at 6:25pm to Shenzhen, from which he was to fly to the US. Lee, who is married to a former TV hostess from Taiwan, felt his treatment was unfair. He said he was puzzled at the decision because he had been invited by a book publisher to attend symposiums and book launches.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
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
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard