TRADE
Jiang, AmCham talk pork
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) on Wednesday said that he is confident a deal can be reached with the US on pork imports containing traces of the drug ractopamine. Jiang raised the matter at a meeting with members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham), saying that he knows some elected officials in the US are concerned about Taiwan’s ban on such pork. A Council of Agriculture delegation addressed the matter when it was in the US, Jiang said, adding that he believes “any similar issues eventually will be resolved.” The government maintains a strict ban on imports of pork that contain ractopamine and it has promised pig farmers that the restriction will not be lifted. AmCham has been pushing for the government to change its policy, hinting that inflexibility could stall progress on a proposed investment deal with the US.
POLITICS
Lien’s idea met with caution
A Shih Hsin University professor yesterday voiced caution about a proposal by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) that the city government set up a holding company to help boost its earnings. Lien said earlier this week that there were several ways for the city to increase its revenues, including establishing a holding company, securitizing liquid assets and issuing public bonds. A holding company would be a convenient way to “centralize administrative powers,” he said, adding that he hoped such a company could eventually turn a profit, which in turn could be used to fund all sorts of city programs. However, public policy and management professor Hsu Jen-hui (徐仁輝) yesterday told a press conference that although Taipei is in better financial condition than other municipalities in the nation, it still has debts of more than NT$160 billion (US$5.33 billion). That means the city government needs to manage its finances more cautiously, Hsu said.
EDUCATION
Students reach Cambodia
Eleven National Yunlin University of Science and Technology students yesterday arrived in Cambodia’s Battambang Province to begin a two-week art, science, computer and digital education project with elementary schools. The volunteers hope to help village residents become more familiar with technology, the university said. The head of the university’s College Student Affairs division, Tsai Tsuo-liang (蔡佐良), praised participants for their passion and willingness to help others overseas. The volunteers raised the money to fund their trip, as well as buy 56 second-hand laptop computers. Donors included Formosa Petrochemical’s Mailiao plant, Taiwan Engineers Without Borders, National Yunlin students and faculty and members of the public, the university said.
SOCIETY
20,000 passports lost: MOFA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has clarified the reported figure of lost and stolen passports to be about 20,000 per year, with a total of about 120,000 over the past six years. The figures are from MOFA’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, which is in charge of processing applications, verification of documents, and issuing passports. MOFA officials said yesterday the pronouncement was to correct erroneous figures reported by some local media outlets, where numbers were cited as 260,000 for lost and stolen passports in the past six years. The rate of passports lost has been decreasing, from 2.76 percent in 2008 to about 1.51 percent last year, the spokesperson said.
Taiwan must first strengthen its own national defense to deter a potential invasion by China as cross-strait tensions continue to rise, multiple European lawmakers said on Friday. In a media interview in Taipei marking the conclusion of an eight-member European parliamentary delegation’s six-day visit to Taiwan, the lawmakers urged Taipei to remain vigilant and increase defense spending. “All those who claim they want to protect you actually want to conquer you,” Ukrainian lawmaker Serhii Soboliev said when asked what lessons Taiwan could draw from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soboliev described the Kremlin as a “new fascist Nazi regime” that justified
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
‘T-DOME’: IBCS would increase Taiwan’s defense capabilities, enabling air defense units to use data from any sensor system and cut reaction time, a defense official said A defense official yesterday said that a purported new arms sale the US is assembling for Taiwan likely includes Integrated Battle Command Systems (IBCS). The anonymous official’s comments came hours after the Financial Times (FT) reported that Washington is preparing a US$20 billion arms sale encompassing “Patriot missiles and other weapons,” citing eight sources. The Taiwanese official said the IBCS is an advanced command and control system that would play a key role in President William Lai’s (賴清德) flagship defense program, the “T-Dome,” an integrated air defense network to counter ballistic missiles and other threats. The IBCS would increase Taiwan’s
NOMINAL NEWLYWEDS: A man’s family and his wife — his long-term caregiver — are engaged in a legal dogfight over the propriety and validity of the recent union A centenarian’s marriage to his caregiver unbeknownst to his children has prompted legal action, as the caregiver accuses the man’s children of violating her personal liberty and damaging her reputation, while the children have sought a legal option to have the marriage annulled. According to sources, the 102-year-old man surnamed Wang (王) lives in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) and previously worked as a land registration agent. Wang reportedly owns multiple properties and parcels of land worth several hundred million New Taiwan dollars and has ten children. His caregiver, a 69-year-old surnamed Lai (賴), has been caring for him since about 1999,
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