■ Taipei zoo
Fund-raising plan to debut
The Taipei Zoo will kick off an animal adoption campaign on Wednesday in the hope of promoting the concept of animal protection among its 4 million annual visitors. The annual fee for individuals willing to take part in the campaign is NT$1,000 (US$29), while groups will pay NT$200,000. Proceeds will be used by the zoo authorities or other research teams to study wildlife protection and conversation both at home and abroad. According to measures approved by the Taipei City Government, 21 rare and endangered species, including indigenous Formosan bears, Formosan macaques, Formosan rabble fish and spotted dears, as well as non-native species such as Asian elephants, koalas and white rhinos, will be covered.
■ Politics
Sovereignty issue raised
A group of politicians and academics urged the government yesterday to take concrete measures to protect the nation's sovereignty over the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands. In a seminar on the Japan's leasing of the Tiaoyutai Islands, participants claimed that the island group is "definitely part of Chinese territory, based on historical and geographical considerations." Soong Yen-hui (宋燕輝), a researcher at the Academia Sinica, and Yu Kuan-shih (俞寬賜), a professor at National Taiwan University, said that the Japan intends to imply its sovereignty over the islands by leasing them. The government should take concrete measures to cope with the Japanese move. The seminar, organized by the Chinese Society of International Law, was chaired by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the society's president. Legislator Chou Shi-wei (周錫瑋) and the government's representative to Japan, Lin Chin-ching (林金莖), also attended the meeting.
■ Economics
Panama talks set for March
The third round of negotiations for a free-trade agreement between Taiwan and Panama will be held in Panama City from March 17 to 21. Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Ruey-long (陳瑞隆) will lead Taipei's delegation to the negotiations. ROC Ambassador to Panama C. Y. Hu (胡正堯) told CNA that a free-trade agreement would facilitate the development of trade relations between the two countries.
■ Cross-strait ties
Better climate needed
The government should move swiftly to improve its investment climate in view of China's magnet effect in pulling in foreign investment, Council for Economic Planning and Development Vice Chairwoman Ho Mei-yue (何美玥) said yesterday. Ho said this country should upgrade and enhance its functions in order to provide foreign investors with an unfettered and sound investment climate. Citing a study by Germany's Deutsch Bank, Ho said opening direct links next year would help businesses slash 50 percent of transport fees and 30 percent in financial transaction charges. Direct links would also help create a 2.5 percent economic growth rate for this country between next year and 2008, she said. Ho said the government has drawn up countermeasures to minimize the negative impact of agricultural and farm products from China on local produce. Ho said that if the nation were to improve its investment climate, including lowering transport costs for cross-strait travel and expanding airlinks network, it would have a stronger appeal than China as an operational hub.
■ Diplomacy
German delegation arrives
A nine-member German parliamentarian delegation, headed by George Fahrenschon, arrived yesterday for a week-long visit. The group is expected to meet with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and other senior government officials to exchange views on bilateral ties and other international matters. They will also visit several economic and cultural establishments, including the National Palace Museum. Other delegates include Stephan Mayer of the Bundestag and Alexander Radwan, a member of the European Parliament. Meanwhile, Cardinal Zenon Crocholewski, the Vatican's minister for education affairs, was due to arrive yesterday for a six-day visit. Crocholewski will also meet with the president during his stay.
■ Energy policy
Energy trip a success
The government will push for a nuclear-free policy that seeks clean alternative sources of energy and will lead to the phasing out of nuclear power plants, Minister Without Portfolio Yeh Jun-jong (葉俊榮) said yesterday. Yeh made the remarks upon his return from a week-long visit to Germany at the head of a Nuclear-Free Homeland Promotion Commission delegation. Yeh said he learned a lot from Germany's experience in developing environmentally friendly technology. He said the delegation met with the federal vice minister of environment and other high-ranking officials and nuclear energy experts. Yeh said the commission will organize a national conference this spring to discuss non-nuclear development and the government will draw up a new direction for the nation's energy development.
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
EVERYONE’S ISSUE: Kim said that during a visit to Taiwan, she asked what would happen if China attacked, and was told that the global economy would shut down Taiwan is critical to the global economy, and its defense is a “here and now” issue, US Representative Young Kim said during a roundtable talk on Taiwan-US relations on Friday. Kim, who serves on the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, held a roundtable talk titled “Global Ties, Local Impact: Why Taiwan Matters for California,” at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, California. “Despite its small size and long distance from us, Taiwan’s cultural and economic importance is felt across our communities,” Kim said during her opening remarks. Stanford University researcher and lecturer Lanhee Chen (陳仁宜), lawyer Lin Ching-chi
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
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