TRADE
ECA long-term goal
An economic cooperation arrangement (ECA) between Taiwan and Indonesia should be seen as a mid to long-term goal because the two sides still need to remove some trade barriers, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) said yesterday. The institution said its feasibility study of such a pact indicated that a gradual approach would be more suitable. The feasibility study, conducted jointly with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, found that there are “potential challenges and difficulties” to be addressed before a comprehensive ECA could be possible, CIER said in an e-mailed statement.
SCIENCE
‘Curiosity’ lecture planned
A Taiwanese scientist who works on NASA’s robot rover project called “Curiosity” will share his experience and the team’s latest findings on Sunday, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said yesterday. Yen Jen helped design Curiosity, which landed on Mars in August on a mission of least two years to seek evidence that there once might have been life on that planet. Yen will brief local astronomy buffs about the science and technology involved in the rover’s exploration of Mars, the museum said. He will also give information on two earlier NASA space rovers — Spirit and Opportunity — that landed on Mars in 2004 to look for evidence of possible habitable environments. Sunday’s lecture will begin at 2pm at the museum. Registration is required and can be made online at tamweb.tam.gov.tw/asp/activity/content.asp?actno=341.
EDUCATION
III, AIC ink agreement
The Institute for Information Industry (III) signed an agreement with Vietnam’s Advanced International Joint Stock Company (AIC) yesterday to help build integrated solutions for smart classrooms in Vietnam. Under the agreement, the AIC plans to build 2,000 smart classrooms using products made by Taiwanese firms, such as Acer’s notebook computers, BenQ Corp’s projectors, HaBook Information Technology’s electronic whiteboards and Hebron Soft’s online English tutoring services. The institute will help the AIC to integrate these hardware products with e-learning software and knowledge management systems to help drive the popularity of e-learning in Vietnam, institute representatives said. Tsai I-chang (蔡義昌), director of the Digital Education Institute at the institute, told a news conference that the agreement was just the first step for Taiwanese suppliers to tap into Vietnam’s e-learning market.
CRIME
Ketamine stays in Class 3
A drug-review committee at the Ministry of Justice yesterday rejected a proposal to upgrade ketamine to a Class 2 controlled substance because of concern of the lack of adequate support measures. It was the eighth time in two years the proposal was rejected. Representatives from the ministries of education and the interior and the Department of Health did not support the proposal to upgrade the Class 3 drug or the imposition of harsher penalties for offenders. Class 2 drug offenders are subject to imprisonment of up to thee years. Ketamine, which is commonly used by local teens, is more psychologically addictive than physically addictive, so the justice ministry should implement better support measures to address the issue of the increasing number of young drug abusers, the committee said.
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