■ Politics
Tax offices may face cuts
The legislature's Finance Committee yesterday passed a resolution that bans all national tax administrations from constructing new office buildings, effective fiscal year 2004. In light the government's deficit, KMT Legislator Lee Sen-zong (李顯榮) said tax administrations across the country should take the lead in practicing belt-tightening and continue using the office buildings available. He noted tax administrations in central and southern Taiwan have both proposed large budgets aimed at building new offices for next year. But Vice Finance Minister Wang Teh-san (王得山) said those administrations have had no offices of their own since their foundation and that over the years they have taken temporary abode in real estate that belongs to the National Property Bureau.
■ Society
Taiwan plugged in
Taiwan ranks first among the world's most computerized countries, up one notch from last year's ranking, according to the latest evaluation report from Brown University. The report assessed the world's 198 countries whose government Web sites offer on-line services to the public. Taiwan ranked second last year, tailing the US. Taiwan's ranking moves up to No. 1 this year, followed by South Korea, Canada and the US. Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday requested the Government Information Office and the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission make efforts to let more people know about useful Internet services and make good use of them. The government wants to establish a "digital Taiwan," one the proposals included in the NT$2.6 trillion six-year national development project dubbed "Challenge 2008."
■ Politics
Chiang denies accounts
A senior national security official said yesterday he would step down if the National Security Council were found to keep any secret accounts in violation of budgetary codes. Council Deputy Secretary-General Antonio Chiang (江春男) told the legislature's Organic Laws and Statutes Committee the council has no secret accounts. He said that he and NSC Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) would take full responsibility if they were found to have lied about the matter. Chiang made the remarks in reply to questions of PFP Legislator Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), who suspected the council has lobbied foreign public relations firms and received foreign dignitaries with secret funds. Chiang said the allegations were not true as the council is only responsible for coordinating businesses related to national security.
■ Crime
Police stumble on clue
Curious police officers began an inadvertent bust yesterday when they saw a big painted poster saying "Chou Wen-ming, don't sniff amphetamine K and sell the drug," a Taiwanese newspaper reported yesterday. Wondering whether it was a real tip or just a practical joke, officers in Hsinchu, who happened to pursue a fugitive nearby, followed the hint painted in red and white on the wall along with arrows pointing to a narrow lane, a local Chinese-language newspaper said. They stopped at a residence only to discover that two men were trying to clean off a painted sign on the front door which said "Here is the place," the paper said. Police found another woman inside and arrested the three, who later confessed to using and selling drugs, the newspaper reported.
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights