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.
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
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
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner