■ Trade
WTO official praises Taiwan
A senior WTO official has praised highly the performance of Taiwan and China in the organization, saying that the two sides played "important and statesmanlike" roles in the recently concluded WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico. In the first-ever public speech on Taiwan and China's memberships by a WTO official, Keith Rockwell, director of information and media relations of the WTO, emphasized the positive effect of their memberships. "Both new members have been active in the work of the WTO," said Rockwell in a speech delivered earlier this week at a symposium organized by the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. He said that both have made important contributions to the Doha Development Agenda negotiations.
■ Agriculture
Biotech park approved
The Cabinet yesterday approved draft bills for the establishment of an agricultural biotechnology park in Pingtung County and for the bureau in charge of the park. The Cabinet hopes the park will boost the biotechnological edge of the agricultural sector. "By 2014, we hope to see the park's annual production value reach NT$18 billion and annual revenue generated by patented agricultural products exceed NT$2 billion," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told a press conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning. The government hopes to see 120 companies move into the park's first-phase Haifeng base by next February and create 8,000 jobs by 2014.
■ Aid
Mission heads to Thailand
Eight doctors, nurses, chemists and laboratory technicians from the Chiayi Christian Hospital will leave for Thailand today to provide free medical services to residents in rural areas of eastern Thailand. The Chiayi Christian Hospital, established by American missionary-doctor Marcy Ditmanson in 1962, opened its Siam Garden Thai Service Center six years ago to serve Thais working and living in southern Taiwan.
■ Politics
Provincial governor abroad
Taiwan Provincial Governor Lin Kuang-hua (林光華) left for the US yesterday to attend an annual meeting of the US National Governors Association (NGA) to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania later this week. Lin said Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, the current NGA president, had invited him to attend the conference. Lin will deliver a speech at the conference on Taiwan's latest political, economic and social developments. The provincial government maintains sister ties with 42 US states. The NGA has traditionally invited the provincial governor to attend its annual conference.
■ Crime
Yu wants Chu caught
Premier Yu Shyi-kun directed law enforcement authorities yesterday to spare no effort in trying to track down former Kaohsiung City Council speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) and bring him to justice. The Kaohsiung District Prosecutor's Office issued an all-points bulletin for Chu on Monday after he failed to turn himself in that day in accordance with an arrest warrant issued for him last Friday. Chu, who is facing a 22-month jail term for vote-buying in the election for city council last year, failed to report to court to begin serving his term. Chu's whereabouts remained unknown as of noon yesterday.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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