DIPLOMACY
Kentucky leader in Taiwan
The governor of Kentucky arrived yesterday to mark the 30th anniversary of a bilateral partnership and to congratulate President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on his re-election, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kentucky Governor Steven Beshear was to attend a reception hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) in celebration of the longstanding partnership between Kentucky and Taiwan, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The Taiwan Provincial Government, which exists in name only after its functions were streamlined in 1998, established a sister-state relationship with Kentucky in 1982. Beshear is also expected to issue a proclamation congratulating Ma, the ministry said.
CULTURE
Artwork on display in Israel
The works of 16 modern Taiwanese artists will be on display in Israel from Friday through Aug. 11 in a collaboration between two major art museums in the two countries. Entitled “Boundaries on the Move: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue,” the exhibition, organized by the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), features Taiwanese artists active since the 1980s and three contemporary artists from Israel in dialogue with one another, TFAM said in a statement. They will examine those boundaries that are “on the move” in everyday life in the context of social, political and economic issues facing Taiwan and Israel, and address complex issues of individual identity, territorial borders, society, economics and immigration in an era of advanced technology and globalization. The exhibited artworks include photography, video, oil paintings, print and sculptures, the statement said.
SOCIETY
‘Mercy releases’ kill animals
Tens of millions of animals, mostly fish and birds, are dying every year because of so-called “mercy releases” by Buddhists trying to improve their karma, welfare activists said. The government is planning to ban the practice, saying it damages the environment and that a large proportion of the 200 million or so creatures released each year die or are injured due to a lack of food and habitat. About 750 such ceremonies are carried out in Taiwan each year, the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan said. Some groups have agreed to halt the practice, but others have not, Council of Agriculture official Lin Kuo-chang (林國彰) said on Sunday. Proposed amendments to wildlife protection laws would see offenders face up to two years in jail or fined up to NT$2.5 million (US$85,000) for unauthorized releases, he said.
SECURITY
Increased protection urged
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tourism Bureau at the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee meeting to help protect Taiwanese tourists from being mistakenly identified as Chinese amid growing tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial claims in the South China Sea. The proposal was passed by the committee. Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) said the ministry would keep in close contact with the bureau on the matter. “Taiwan’s representative office in Manila has reminded Taiwanese expatriates and businesspeople to stay alert and take precautions,” he said. The office also suggested that Taiwanese living in the Philippines stay away from last week’s protest site in Manila, Yang said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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