■Politics
Ma tells KMT to get cracking
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) urged his party yesterday to begin grooming potential candidates for the next Taipei mayoral election as soon as possible. Ma made the appeal during a KMT Central Standing Committee meeting when he spoke in his capacity as a committee member. Ma received 873,102 votes, or 64.11 percent of the ballots cast, in Saturday's election, exceeding the number of votes he received in the 1998 election by more than 110,000. While thanking the KMT for its support in the campaign, Ma urged the party not to get carried away by the victory, saying that it should learn from each election and build up its strength accordingly. He said that he would devote himself to running the city over the next four years so as to solicit more support from Taipei residents.
■ Politics
Yu congratulates victors
Premier Yu Shyi-kun congratulated Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday for winning re-election. He said he hoped that both will use the will of the people as their guide in city administration over the next four years. He also urged the newly elected city council members to be the voices of the people and to monitor their city's administrations to ensure the continued development of the cities. Yu said he was gratified that Saturday's elections were held in a peaceful manner, although there were still reports of vote-buying.
■ Health
DOH launches new Web site
The Department of Health has launched an English-language Web site (http://www.doh.gov.tw/) to provide information on medical services and to publicize efforts to join the WHO. The site offers healthcare-related news, statistics and regulations on employing foreign medical professionals. The site is part of the department's effort to accelerate the internationalization of local health care and promote the National Development Plan, the department said in a press release on Tuesday.
■ Zoos
Kinkajous given to Beijing
Four Taiwan-bred kinkajous, or honeybears, have been given to the Beijing Zoo in the first cross-strait exchange involving animals, a Taipei Zoo official said yesterday. The four kinkajous, aged between 6 and 10 years old, were delivered by air to Beijing Tuesday as the first step in an animal-exchange project, Taipei Zoo spokesman Chao Ming-chieh (趙明杰) said. They were among the 14 kinkajous bred by the Taipei Zoo, Chao added. Kinkajous, found from Mexico to Brazil, are related to raccoons. The exchange project was sealed in August 2000 after rounds of negotiations between animal experts from the two sides, Chao told the media. It had not been decided what animals Beijing would give Taipei in return, he said.
■ Bootleg liquor
Harsher punishment planned
The government will mete out much harsher punishment for those convicted of producing, importing or distributing bootlegged liquor, under a draft revision of tobacco and liquor regulations passed by an Executive Yuan floor meeting yesterday. The draft stipulates prison terms of up to three years, or three times the existing maximum. Offenders will also be fined between NT$600,000 (US$17,140) and NT$3 million, or twice the existing fine.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
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