■Education
Exam postponed
The STYLE/JET examina-tion, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow around the country, has been post-poned due to the concerns over the spread of SARS. The company in charge of the exam, Caves Educational Training, said that because of the rising numbers of suspected SARS cases in
the last two days and concern over the health of the examinees, it decided to push back the exam date. Caves will call or fax all the examinees, their parents or teachers regarding the new exam date. Most of those who had registered for the exam were children aged between seven and 12.
■ Health
Lin urges cooperation
Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) expressed his appreciation yesterday
to those who have been put into quarantine because of concern about the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Lin said that while it is understandable that those who are confined within the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital might feel that they are healthy and should not have to stay there, the SARS incubation period still has not been determined. He urged those who are isolated to comply with quarantine regulations, adding that those who recently returned from the seriously affected areas of China, Hong Kong and Macau should also heighten their guard. He
also said the government
is putting together a medical team to be sent to China to help Taiwanese business-people who have fallen ill with the disease there.
■ Legislature
Logjam over money
The ruling and opposition parties yesterday failed to reach an agreement for setting up a monitoring mechanism regulating township administration's use of the extra NT$8.4 billion fund within the proposed NT$58 billion public construction project fund. "The DPP insisted that using those allocated budget should be supervised by certain mechanisms," said DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), while KMT law-makers contended that township governments only have to submit their plans to the central administration before the plans are reviewed by the legislature. The review mechanism must be set for monitoring the use of money to make sure the money will be used effec-tively, Chen emphasized.
■ Development
Bio fest set for November
The 2003 International Bio Festival will be held in Taipei Nov. 6 to18, organizers of the event announced on Thursday. Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who doubles as president of the Institute of Biomedical Technology Industry -- one of the organizers of the festival -- said that the two-week event will include an award ceremony, academic discussions, a forum on venture capital and exhibi-tions. Wang said the festival is aimed at promoting the development and inter-nalization of the nation's biomedical technology industry by integrating all related resources.
■ Politics
TSU chief off to Japan
TSU Chairman Huang Chu-wen (黃主文) left for Japan yesterday to attend the inauguration of a school established in honor of former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). Huang said he will urge overseas Chinese in Japan to "uphold Taiwan's democratic fruits, Taiwan's indigenous government, Taiwan's course of reforms, Taiwan's national security, and Taiwan's political stability."
■Politics
DPP expels scandalized Lin
The DPP expelled Legislator Lin Chin-hsing (林進興) Thursday because of his indictment along with 39 others in the Kaohsiung City Council vote-buying scandal. The DPP Central Advisory Committee decided in a meeting to cancel Lin's party membership. Anticipating that he would be kicked out of the party, Lin was resigned to Thursday's decision, saying he will serve as an independent lawmaker for the time being. However, he said he is confident that the judiciary will clear his name eventually and that he will be allowed to rejoin the DPP once his innocence is proven. Lin was the only legislator embroiled in the vote-buying scandal that has seen 34 city councilors and six others indicted. He was accused of aiding his former wife, Councilor Chang Wen-hsiu (章玟琇), to accept bribes of NT$5 million from Councilor Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) in return for her promise to support Chu's bid for the council speakership.
■ Diplomacy
S Carolina shows support
The House and Senate of the state of South Carolina have passed a resolution, praising the Republic of China for its contributions to the promotion of world peace, democracy and human rights, and saying that the world should not acquiesce to any kind of military threat against Taiwan. According to the resolution, Taiwan is a "staunch long-term ally" of the US and that the two countries share the same ideals of freedom, and human rights. Taiwan has made remarkable achievements in promoting education, economic development and democracy, it says, adding that the state and Taiwan established sisterhood relations in 1981.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
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