The DPP caucus yesterday reiterated its determination to enact national technology protection rules aimed at preventing premature transfer of high-tech know-how across the Strait.
DPP legislative whip Chen Chi-mai (
"That is simply not true," Chen told reporters. "Due to a boycott by opposition lawmakers, the technology bill failed to reach the floor, a fact to which the legislative records can attest."
Chen's remarks came a day after Lee told a TSU forum that the administration has been lukewarm in lobbying for the legislation mainly to check him and the fledgling party.
Lee and the TSU have registered strong objections to a plan to allow local chipmakers to invest in China, saying the practice would bolster China's high-tech industries while aggravating unemployment at home.
To placate the DPP's ally, Premier Yu Shyi-kun has pledged to give top priority to enacting national technology-protection rules in the coming legislative session.
The proposal would require chipmakers to meet specified thresholds before they are allowed to invest in China.
Chen said all DPP lawmakers are receptive to the policy, which also has the backing of President Chen Shui-bian (
He said the legislature's science and technology committee refused to take up the issue in the last session because PFP lawmakers argued it would scare Taiwanese businessmen in China.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
RSS