POLITICS
Minister to stay: sources
Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝), who tendered his resignation before the Lunar New Year holidays, will continue to serve on the Cabinet, people familiar with the matter said yesterday. The sources said that Chang agreed to stay in the Cabinet after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had a meeting with him and praised his performance. Recent rumors said that the president had spoken with Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) during the holidays about a possible Cabinet reshuffle. Jiang yesterday said he had no comment on media speculation about the possible reshuffle and that he would make an announcement on the matter once a decision had been made.
HEALTH
Agency starts cancer drive
The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Health Promotion Administration launched a program on World Cancer Day yesterday to boost its efforts to fight a disease that has topped the causes of death in the nation for the past three decades. The project focuses on raising awareness of cancer prevention methods by promoting regular health checks and studying possible causes of the disease, health official Wu Chien-yuan (吳建遠) said. Given that cancer accounted for 28 percent of Taiwanese deaths over the past 31 years, the government is committed to continuing its efforts to reduce illness and death caused by the disease, she said. More projects, including those encouraging the public to exercise regularly and cut down on sugary beverages and fast food, are also being planned, since breaking these unhealthy habits can help curb cancer rates, she said.
SCIENCE
Center boosts fungus study
A research center in central Taiwan’s Asia University is stepping up efforts to develop edible and medicinal mushrooms, after its initial investment in the field generated output valued at hundreds of millions of New Taiwan dollars. The center plans to launch more trials on the cultivation of bamboo fungus — a popular ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine — following its success in raising maitake mushrooms and tremellas, known in English as snow fungus. The center hopes its efforts will contribute to the advancement of local mushroom cultivation, particularly of snow fungus, since Taiwan depends heavily on Chinese imports of this mushroom due to local restrictions on pesticides, center head J.Y. Lin (林俊義) said. Lin said the center has figured out a formula for the optimal levels of humidity, temperature and concentration of carbon dioxide required to mass produce several kinds of mushrooms that it wants to develop further in its research.
TECHNOLOGY
ITRI makes super bio plastic
After eight years of research, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has managed to develop a plastic made from cereal grains that can withstand temperatures of up to 100?C without deforming in the heat. Polylactic acid (PLA) plastics normally lose their shape when exposed to temperatures of 50?C or above, the institute said. However, PLAs derived from renewable biomass are heat-resistant, it said, adding that the new plastic derived from cereal grains is biodegradable and non-toxic. The state-funded institute said it has shared its findings with companies that plan to use the technology to produce heat-resistant tableware. Other possible uses for the invention include more resilient and eco-friendly bags, disposable cups, lids, food containers and components for electronic devices.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai