POLITICS
Tsai rejects Ko’s silence
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday said that Taiwan should remain silent on “one country, two systems,” the unification formula Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) espoused earlier this year. Ko said that “it would be best to not say anything,” as discussions regarding “one country, two systems” have formed an unmanageable vicious circle. Rejecting Ko’s comment, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that it is important that the government is clear on topics that concern the interests of Taiwanese. It is equally important, she said, to avoid misjudgement and misunderstanding by members of the international community and China. Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺) declined to comment on Ko’s remark, but said the majority of Taiwanese do not agree with China’s “one country, two systems” formula.
TOURISM
Yilan balloon fair touted
Visitors to Yilan County have an opportunity to view its picturesque rice fields from above when its hot air balloon fair opens this month, the Yilan County Government said on Thursday. The fair is to be held on the weekends of June 8 and June 15 in Dongshan Township (冬山), offering visitors and residents hot air balloon rides at NT$500 (US$15.82) per person, the government said. From the air, the view is one of boundless green paddy fields, unmarred by electricity wires or tall buildings, with nothing but a narrow concrete path meandering though the fields, it said. Yilan first launched the hot air balloon fair last year, attracting more than 100,000 visitors, it added.
ARTS
Troupe eyes ticket sales
Performing arts troupe Paper Windmill Theatre yesterday urged the public to purchase tickets for its performances for less-fortunate children. In offering the tickets, founder of Paper Windmill Theatre Lee Yung-feng (李永豐) said that the troupe is allowing audience members to pay for extra NT$650 tickets for children in need. Since December 2006, the troupe has staged 682 free shows in 368 townships, aiming to bridge the cultural gap between rural and urban areas, and ensure that every child has the opportunity to enjoy a live theatrical performance. However, to help nurture and encourage creativity in children, Lee said what the troupe has been doing is not enough. Providing children with access to the arts not only inspires hopes and dreams, Lee said, but could help transform the nation’s traditional crafts. Paper Windmill Theatre is performing its classic Paper Windmill Fantasy at the National Performing Arts Center in Taipei today and tomorrow.
LOTTERY
NT$300m added to jackpots
Taiwan Lottery Co has added an additional NT$300 million to the jackpots of two national lotteries to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. In anticipation of the festival, Taiwan Lottery has added an extra NT$200 million to the Power Lottery from Monday to July 25, the company said. There would also be an additional 100 lottery draws of NT$1 million in the Grand Lottery game from Tuesday to June 21, the company said. The company is also increasing the prizes of its Bingo Bingo game for 16 consecutive days beginning yesterday. This year’s Dragon Boat Festival, one of the three major traditional festivals along with the Mid-Autumn Festival and Lunar New Year, is on Friday.
SAFETY
Nitrous oxide rules tightened
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday announced that it would include nitrous oxide, a gas often used in whipped cream, as a food additive requiring tighter control. Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is commonly used as a whipping agent in whipped cream dispensers and coffee floats. About 30 to 40 tonnes are consumed each year in Taiwan and it is currently listed as a food ingredient, which only needs to meet hygienic standards, agency official Wei Jen-ting (魏任廷) said. Following in the steps of other nations, the agency’s inclusion of nitrous oxide in the list of food additives requiring tighter control means that it would be subject to usage standards and a maximum quantity limit, as well as other limitations and requirements. Manufacturers would also be required to obtain a registration permit for the production or sale of the gas. The agency would open the draft regulations for public comment for 60 days and expects to implement them on Jan. 1 next year, Wei said.
DEFENSE
Officials say no links to firms
The Ministry of National Defense and the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology have not purchased products from eight Taiwanese companies that have been placed on a US Department of Commerce blacklist, military officials said on Wednesday. The department on May 15 announced that Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co and 70 affiliated firms had been added to its export control “Entity List” due to regulatory breaches. Among the 70 affiliates were eight Taiwanese enterprises, including Xunwei Technologies, Huawei’s representative in Taiwan. Aside from their association with Huawei, the other seven companies were reportedly listed because of suspected breaches of a US embargo on trade with Iran.
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