■ 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.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
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