■Elections
Candidates' rank determined
Draws for polling numbers for mayoral and councilor candidates in the country's top two municipalities were held yesterday in Taipei and Kaohsiung cities. The results determine a candidate's placement on the ballot. In Taipei, Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) drew the No. 2 spot while his DPP rival Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) drew No. 1 after an official from the election committee drew on his behalf. In Kaohsiung, where there are five candidates in the race for the top job at city hall, Shih Ming-teh (施明德), who was absent and had his number drawn by an election commission official, got No. 1, followed in order by Chang Po-ya (張博雅), Huang Tien-sheng (黃天生), Huang Chun-ying (黃俊英) and Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷). As for city council elections, 115 candidates are vying for 52 seats in Taipei City and 114 candidates are fighting for 44 seats in Kaohsiung. The elections will be held Dec 7.
■ Crime
Counterfeiting charges laid
Law-enforcement agents arrested four people yesterday for allegedly counterfeiting NT$1,000 bank notes and seized equipment and bogus currency, a spokesman for the Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Justice announced. Acting on a tip-off and following a lengthy investigation, prosecutors and investigators raided two locations in northern Taipei and Taoyuan counties where Ho Chin-teh (何金德), Lu Sun-yung (呂森永), Chang Yu-hung (張愈弘) and Feng Ming-cheng (馮明政) were found with 760 counterfeit NT$1,000 notes along with a computer and a color printer. The ring, led by Ho, allegedly sold bogus notes to downstream buyers, at a rate of one to three or one to four, who in turn passed the bills at grocery stores, traditional markets and street stands in central Taichung, Changhua and southern Kaohsiung counties.
■ Diplomacy
Chen offers help to ally
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that Taiwan is willing to help Sao Tome and Principe's fight against malaria. Chen made the remark at the Presidential Office when he received Sao Tome and Principe Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Mateus Meira Rita, who arrived Wednesday for a five-day visit. The president said he was concerned about the nation, which is battling malaria by trying to eradicate mosquitoes. Chen said that Taiwan has already sent experts to the West African country, who have mapped out a mosquito-killing plan they will submit to the local authorities. Rita said Taiwan is the major cooperation partner of Sao Tome and Principe and told Chen that his country appreciates the assistance. Taiwan's aid, he said, is used to fight malaria and provide drinking water to residents.
■ Diplomacy
GIO solicits support
Government Information Office (GIO) Deputy Director-General Frederic Chang (張平男) called Thursday for international support for Taiwan, saying that a hegemonic China has never ceased in its efforts to isolate democratic Taiwan on the world stage. Chang made the remarks during a gathering in Geneva with 20 representatives from the media, academia and government. Stressing that Taiwan, a full-fledged democracy, deserves greater support from the international community, Chang invited foreign friends to pay fact-finding visits to the country. According to the GIO deputy chief, various European parliamentarians showed a high degree of interest in issues related to direct links.
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The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
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