DIPLOMACY
Christensen to return to AIT
Senior US diplomat Brent Christensen will become deputy director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) next week, the AIT said yesterday. Christensen will formally assume his new post on Monday and will also serve as the office’s acting director until the arrival of the new AIT Director Christopher J. Marut, the AIT said in a statement. Marut will succeed former AIT director William Stanton, who retired at the end of last month and decided to remain in Taipei. Christensen has served as director of the US State Department’s Office of Taiwan Coordination since September 2010. Before that, he served as counselor for Environment, Science, Technology and Health at the US embassy in Beijing, the statement said. He did a previous stint in Taiwan at the AIT’s Taipei Office, the AIT said.
NATIONAL DEFENSE
Navy blundered in exercise
The navy has admitted that there was a problem with a recent military exercise off the east coast and said it had taken steps to discipline those responsible. The commander of the naval fleet involved has been given a major demerit and moved to another post, the navy said in a statement released late on Wednesday. The navy said the naval fleet based in Suao Township (蘇澳), Yilan County, did not operate in an area planned for the drill. However, it made no mention of a news report that said the commander of the fleet had failed to carry out instructions to keep the fleet in a specific area during the drill late last month. As a result, the frigates sailed toward the Japanese island of Yonaguni, about 100km east of Taiwan, raising an alert in Japan, the Apple Daily reported yesterday. The navy acknowledged the mistake, saying it had formed a task force to probe the incident and brought the matter to the attention of military prosecutors.
FASHION
Nail product caution issued
Consumers are advised against purchasing nail polish products that are not properly labeled, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Nail polish should be labeled with detailed information, such as the name of the product, its contents, the date of manufacture and the importing company, an official said. “Nail polish is categorized as a cosmetic product, which means approval by health authorities is required before the product can enter the market,” the official said. In the case of nail polish remover, the agency warned consumers that it should be used in a well-ventilated area to avoid excessive inhalation of fumes.
ENTERTAINMENT
Internet use heavy in cities
More than 40 percent of Internet users in urban areas are classified as heavy users, while 30 percent of TV viewers watch large amounts of TV, according to a recent survey released by Google Taiwan. Up to 97 percent of the 500 people polled in Taipei, Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung said they surfed online daily, while 76 percent said they watched TV every day, the survey showed. About 43 percent of Internet users said they spent more than 28 hours online every week, while 33 percent said they spent 13 to 28 hours surfing the Internet. The remaining 24 percent said they spent four to 13 hours online every week. In addition, 38 percent of TV viewers said they watched three hours or less every week, with 31 percent saying the time they spent on TV was three to 13 hours. Thirty percent of TV watchers said they watched more than 13 hours a week.
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