AVIATION
Heavy fog delays flights
A total of 84 flights were delayed yesterday morning at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport because of heavy fog, officials said. From 5am until 9:30am, no planes were allowed to take off or land at the airport because visibility was less than 900m, airport officials said. Two incoming flights — one passenger flight and one cargo plane — were diverted to Kaohsiung International Airport, the officials said. The heavy fog engulfed the airport’s south and north runways in the early hours of the morning. As of 3pm, it had dispersed somewhat, but some flights were still being affected, officials said.
CRIME
Pigeon kidnappers nabbed
Seven people have been arrested in the south for allegedly kidnapping dozens of race pigeons for ransom, police said yesterday. The suspects were accused of setting traps along racing routes to capture the pigeons and demanding up to NT$5,000 in ransom per bird from the owners, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said. The alleged ringleader was nabbed when he met an owner to collect ransom earlier this week, police said, and he was found to be in possession of nearly 60 race pigeons. Pigeon racing is popular in the country, but has been linked to underground gambling.
WATER SUPPLY
Enough water in the south
Some areas in the south need not worry about a water shortage in the dry season, which usually ends when the plum rains begin in May, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said on Tuesday. The Southern Region Water Resources Office said water supplies in the southern regions of Chiayi, Greater Tainan, Pingtung and the outlying island of Penghu are sustainable through the end of May. The Tsengwen and Wushantou reservoirs currently have about 300 million tonnes of water, representing about 50 percent of their storage capacities, the office said, adding that this is about the same level as at this time last year. The rainy season is usually from May to June — the plum rain season — followed by the typhoon season from July to September. Meanwhile, the water supply in Greater Kaohsiung, which is heavily reliant on the Gaoping River, might require further assessment as there are no large reservoirs serving the municipality, the office said.
RESEARCH
Colleges form ethics alliance
Nearly 50 colleges formed an alliance on Tuesday to jointly safeguard the rights of research subjects in human-related studies, said Tainan’s National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), a member of the group. The establishment of the biggest research ethics alliance in Taiwan, the South Taiwan Alliance for Research Ethics, was aimed at reducing the number of controversies triggered by studies on human behavior, the university said. The rights of research subjects came into the spotlight recently after media reports about researchers subjecting children to brain-wave experiments without parental consent and collecting saliva samples from Aboriginal minorities ruffled public sentiment. Led by NCKU, the 49 colleges from southern and eastern Taiwan and the outlying islands of Kinmen and Penghu formed the alliance — initiated by the National Science Council — to enhance cooperation and discipline in academic research. Under the partnership, alliance members are expected to assist one another in reviewing ethics issues in studies involving human subjects.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all