POLITICS
Group wants legislature TV
A Taiwanese watchdog is advocating the establishment of a public TV channel dedicated to live and recorded broadcasts of the legislature, saying this would lead to greater legislative transparency. Taipei-based Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) said on Sunday it would lobby for the TV channel after the new legislature is elected next month. Legislative and presidential elections will be held on Jan. 14 and the new legislature will be sworn in on Feb. 1. “Although Taiwanese now can watch legislative sessions via the Internet, a TV channel is needed for people like the elderly who seldom use the Internet,” CCW director Chen Chien-fu (陳建甫) said. “This will allow them to see how the legislators are performing.”
WEATHER
Prepare for storms: Chen
Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳?) said yesterday that the tropical storm that battered the Philippines over the weekend could serve as a warning to Taiwan. “It is rare for the Philippines to be hit by a storm as late as December,” Chen said, adding that Taiwan should not be lax, but should instead make preparations to mitigate the impact of disasters. Chen said that when he first checked the situation of tropical storm Washi, the death toll in the Philippines was 59, but the latest reports showed the number had reached nearly 700. In addition, more than 1,000 people were reported missing.
SOCIETY
Marriages rose 19.7%
Inspired by the celebration of the Republic of China’s (ROC) centennial this year, more Taiwanese tied the knot than they did last year. A total of 146,416 couples married in Taiwan in the first 11 months of this year, representing a year-on-year increase of 19.7 percent, tallies compiled by the Ministry of the Interior showed. Of these nuptials, about one out of every 7.5 involved a foreign spouse. A total of 19,622 ROC citizens wedded people from abroad, including 12,316 from China, Hong Kong and Macau, 4,432 from Southeast Asia and 2,874 from other countries and areas, the tallies showed. The number of cross-cultural marriages increased 0.8 percent in the January to November period over the same period of the year before. The ministry found that the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu had the highest rates of cross-cultural marriages, at 27 percent, while Taitung County had the lowest rate, at 11.1 percent.
DIPLOMACY
British delegation visits
A delegation led by British Member of Parliament Andrew Rosindell is visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The group of eight Conservative Party youths is expected to call at the Mainland Affairs Council, the Forestry Bureau, the Bureau of Foreign Trade, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the College of International Affairs at National Chengchi University. They will also visit many sites, including the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101 and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. During their visit, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷) will host a luncheon for them. Rosindel has visited Taiwan twice and has worked to promote closer ties between the UK and Taiwan. The group he leads is composed mainly of the younger leaders from the Conservative Party. This trip aims to give the delegation a better understanding of cross-trait relations and the political, economic and social landscape in Taiwan, as well as to promote exchanges.
ECONOMY
Ma to establish committee
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) reportedly plans to invite experts from the public and private sectors and academia to join an ad hoc committee to be established under the Presidential Office with the aim of helping Taiwan better face global financial volatility, Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳?) said yesterday. The task force, to be formed in the coming week, is the result of a pledge announced by Ma during a televised presidential debate on Saturday in which he said that in the face of a possible second global financial storm since 2008, the new group is essential to help Taiwan deal with the possible impact. Chen said the task force “is a constructive decision in the face of growing uncertainties at home and abroad.”
HEALTH
Cancer fear widespread
People in Taiwan fear being diagnosed with cancer and generally have little confidence in the effectiveness of existing cancer therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment, according to the results of a survey released yesterday. The survey conducted by Yuva Cell Bank, a Taipei-based private cell storage and management center, shows that more than 80 percent of respondents said they worried about getting cancer, with more women (85 percent) expressing fear than men (77 percent). Only 26 percent of respondents were aware that cancer is not incurable, while 43 percent said they did not know it could be cured. The survey concluded that people in this nation are not well informed about cancer, despite statistics showing that it was the major cause of death last year, taking the lives of nearly a quarter (24.8 percent) of the people who died.
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