FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MOFA decries name change
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it has lodged a protest with the Swedish Tax Agency over its changing of the nation’s name to “province of China” from “Taiwan” on its Web site, calling for the original designation to be maintained. The protest was lodged in response to a statement by the Swedish Tax Agency on Feb. 28, which said that Taiwan would now be listed on its Web site as a province of China, based on the International Organization for Standardization’s code. The ministry has directed its representative office in Sweden to tell the Swedish government that such a change is unacceptable to the government and people of Taiwan, MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said. The designation “Taiwan” must be reinstated to ensure the nation’s dignity and the rights of Taiwanese, he said, adding that Sweden’s representative office in Taipei has also been informed of Taiwan’s position on the matter.
INVESTMENTS
CIB warns against Ethvinex
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Saturday issued a statement warning the public against using the trading site Ethvinex, which it said has come under the spotlight amid complaints related to fraud. Since last month, Taiwanese authorities have been receiving at least 50 complaints per day about fraudulent activities on the site, the CIB said. The people who filed the complaints all said that they had not received any response after carrying out transactions on the trading platform, the bureau said. Citing the complainants, the CIB said Ethvinex claims to guarantee a 20 percent safe return on capital investments and a drawdown of profits after a week of placement. The placement of funds can range from NT$2,000 to NT$930,000, the bureau said. The CIB said an investigation is being carried out into the operations of Ethvinex and its host location. Meanwhile, the public is warned to be aware of the growing threat of online investment fraud, particularly offers of high and easy returns, the CIB said. People can report suspicious activities via the government’s 165 Fraud Prevention Hotline or its online reporting service at https://www.165.gov.tw/case_tell.aspx, it added.
AIR QUALITY
Firecrackers prove ‘unhealthy’
The air quality in the central and northern parts of western Taiwan was generally rated “unhealthy” yesterday, because of a lack of wind to disperse atmospheric pollutants, much of which resulted from the lighting of firecrackers during the previous two days of Lantern Festival celebrations, the Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring Network said. As of noon, the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI) showed a “red” warning, indicating unhealthy air for the general public, in Changhua County’s Siansi (線西) and Erlin (二林) townships, and Yunlin’s Lunbei Township (崙背). Meanwhile, 28 monitoring stations in northern and central Taiwan, as well as Yunlin and Chiayi counties, including 13 stations in the greater Taipei area, showed an “orange” warning, signaling unhealthy air for sensitive groups. In the rest of western Taiwan and all of eastern Taiwan, the air quality was rated as either good or fair, the monitoring data showed. The poor air quality is likely to improve today, when a weather front is to arrive, the EPA said, adding that the situation in southern and eastern Taiwan was slightly better yesterday due to southerly and easterly winds.
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
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
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
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