FOOD
Fish prices rise: FTC
The prices of abalone, dried scallops and mullet roe have increased ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said yesterday. However, the prices of other traditional New Year treats, such as pistachios, peanuts and dried melon seeds, have remained stable, the commission said after checking pre-holiday prices. The price of abalone has risen 26 percent, dried scallops 15 percent and mullet roe 12 percent compared with the last Lunar New Year, the commission said. It attributed the price hikes to climate change and environmental factors, which it said have affected the three products, whether locally produced or imported from Mexico and Chile.
SOCIETY
Record donations received
A charity’s branch in Chiayi County yesterday said it has received more than NT$7.42 million (US$247,828) in New Year donations, the largest amount in its 44-year history. The Chiayi unit of the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families said the money would be used to help local disadvantaged families buy supplies for the Lunar New Year holiday, with each family receiving NT$7,000. In addition, the foundation said, it has distributed NT$500,000 worth of commodities donated by 4,320 people. One of the donors, surnamed Chen (陳), said she had contributed three boxes of goods to encourage a boy with scoliosis whom she was sponsoring.
TRAVEL
VWP application progresses
The government hopes US officials will visit Taiwan soon to help expedite the country’s formal inclusion in the US’ visa-waiver program (VWP), Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang (章計平) said yesterday. Taiwan was named a candidate in the program late last year and it is now awaiting a team of officials from the US Department of Homeland Security to inspect the country’s border and airport security systems. That inspection and other evaluations will determine whether the department and the US Congress grant the nation approval as a member of the program, according to the application procedure. Chang’s remarks came after US President Barack Obama signed into effect an administrative order for Taiwan to be listed as a candidate for visa-waiver program membership a day earlier. Progress reports will be filed on a semi-annual basis, according to the order.
CRIME
Fishermen face investigation
Four Indonesian fishermen allegedly involved in the death of a Taiwanese fishing boat skipper arrived in Taiwan on Thursday night under the escort of police officers. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the four would face a judicial investigation into the death of Wang Yao-chung (王耀彰), the captain of the Pingtung-registered Chin Hai Hsiang No. 3. Two other Indonesian fishermen, also crew members on the boat, were brought to Taiwan earlier this year to be questioned in connection with Wang’s death, the ministry said. The vessel reportedly lost contact with its owners on Dec. 6 while fishing in the Indian Ocean. After the ministry reported the case to the Indian government, the boat was intercepted by Indian naval ships on Dec. 9 and escorted to Port Blair in the Andaman Islands between India and Myanmar. Some of the six crew members admitted to having killed Wang and throwing his body into the sea, according to Indian authorities.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods