TAIPEI
Su Li-chung stepping down
Taipei Universiade Organizing Committee chief executive Su Li-chung (蘇麗瓊) yesterday resigned as secretary-general of the Taipei City Government, citing the need to rest. Speaking at the news conference yesterday night, Su said that it was a pleasurable experience working with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and that she was grateful for being allowed free rein over the planning of the Universiade. Su said she cherished the experience and that the success of the Games was not due to her efforts alone, but all staffers should be given thanks. For the time being, she had not considered working under the new premier, she added.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
DIPLOMACY
Mission moving to Abuja
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said that it has found a location for its trade mission in Nigeria, which was asked earlier this year to move out of the capital, Abuja. By the end of the year, the office is to be set up in temporary premises in Lagos, Department of West Asia and African Affairs Director-General Antonio Chen (陳俊賢) told a news conference, adding that another move would be made early next year, when a suitable property is expected to become available for long-term lease in the city.
TECHNOLOGY
Taiwan to get iPhone early
Taiwan is to be targeted for the first launch of the iPhone 8, said an informed source who asked not to be named. The iPhone 8 is to become available for pre-order on Friday next week, days after Apple Inc’s expected official release of its latest iPhone, the source said yesterday. If true, it would be Taiwan’s second consecutive time as one of the first nations in which Apple’s new iPhones are launched. Apple has been in private discussions with the nation’s five major telecoms — Chunghwa Telecom, Far EasTone, Taiwan Mobile, Taiwan Star Telecom and Asia Pacific Telecom — over pre-order arrangements, the source said. Apple is scheduled to hold a special live event on Tuesday at the Steve Jobs Theater, which is being called the official launch of the iPhone 8.
TOURISM
Contest calls for short films
An annual Ministry of Foreign Affairs-funded short film competition is calling on people locally and internationally to submit films that feature human interest stories and beautiful scenery, with the aim of promoting Taiwan’s beauty to the world. Now in its third year, the “Trending Taiwan” contest is seeking three-minute short films, the ministry said in a statement. The films should present a human interest story set in Taiwan and should feature the nation’s beauty, it said, adding that the contest is open to people of all nationalities and ages. Submissions close on Oct. 16. The entries that pass preliminary screenings will advance to the final round, followed by an award ceremony on Nov. 8 where the winner is to receive NT$200,000. To encourage more foreigners to participate, the ministry has set up a special international participation category this year, the winner of which will be awarded NT$200,000. The ministry said it hopes that the creative films can show the nation’s diverse and energetic culture to the world.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods