POLITICS
DPP advises against rally
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Central Standing Committee yesterday passed a resolution advising party members who are government officials or running in the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections not to join a rally planned by the Formosa Alliance. The pro-localization group is to hold a rally on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard on Oct. 20 to protest Chinese bullying, promote Taiwan’s right to self-determination and garner support for its independence referendum proposal. DPP spokeswoman Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said a motion put forward at the committee meeting said civil servants affiliated with the party wanted a clear position from the party headquarters on the matter. Committee members said that while the party steadfastly opposes annexation, any action on the issue at this time could give anti-reformists a pretext to cause disturbance during elections, Wu said.
DIPLOMACY
Tsai touts joint efforts
The nation is collaborating with other countries to establish or bolster cross-border security networks, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday told an international police cooperation forum in Taipei on combating transnational telecom fraud. Cracking down on fraud has become increasingly difficult due to the constantly evolving fraud methods and dispersal of criminal rings across various countries, she said. Taiwan is playing an indispensable role in the international security network, having taken the initiative to bolster ties with other countries, and is willing to and capable of making greater contributions, she said.
HEALTH
Yilan confirms dengue case
The Yilan County Public Health Bureau yesterday confirmed the county’s second imported dengue fever case this year. The patient is a Filipino fisherman recently returned from a trip to the Philippines, the bureau said. He was found to have a high fever upon his arrival at an airport on Saturday last week, it said, adding that blood samples tested positive for dengue fever on Monday. No indigenous cases of dengue fever has been reported in the county so far this year, it added. The bureau urged labor brokerage firms to pay attention to the health of foreign workers when they enter the nation and instruct them to seek medical attention if they develop symptoms such as high fever, headache and muscle pains. People should also keep their environment clean to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne disease, the bureau said.
SOCIETY
Congress to open in Penghu
The World Congress of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World is to open in Penghu County on Thursday next week, county Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) said on Tuesday. A total of 250 people representing 50 cities in 23 nations are to participate in the meeting, which would be the first of its kind in Penghu, Chen said. The congress — with the theme “In Love With the Ocean: Ecological and Tourism Sustainability, Ocean Economy, Cooperation and Co-creation” — includes a series of academic forums, expositions and cultural and sports events, some of which start today and will run through Nov. 4, Chen said. Other events include the Bay Landscape Art Festival, a carnival street parade, the Penghu Lights Festival, the Global Marine Areas and Harbor City Forum, the Night in Penghu concert, an ironman triathlon and the Penghu Cross-Sea Marathon, Chen added.
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
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
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard