■ Trade
Delegation may go to Macau
The Chinese National Federation of Industries is considering sending a trade mission to Macau next month to study the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between China and Macau, a federation official said Wednesday. Speaking at an economic and trade conference of overseas Chinese merchants in Macau, the official said Taiwan is interested in the preferential treatment Beijing has offered under the agreement. The CEPA was signed earlier this year. The official was interested in learning if Macau can offer similar or better treatment to Taiwanese investors. If the answer is affirmative, Taiwan investment in Macau should increase significantly, he added.
■ Education
University upset over rank
The leaking of a Ministry of Education report on academic achievement that ranked National Chengchi University as 48th among 154 colleges has upset both school officials and students. Students have been debating the ranking in Internet chat rooms, while many alumni and parents have also voiced their concerns. Yesterday the university demanded the ministry launch an investigation to discover who leaked the report, or it would consider asking the Control Yuan to investigate. It also asked for an apology from a Chinese-language newspaper which covered the university's drop in the ratings as a front-page story. The university has threatened to sue both the ministry and the newspaper
■ Cross-strait ties
Educational exchanges urged
Several advisers to the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday that the country should promote cultural and educational exchanges with China in a gradual and orderly manner. According to Chang Shu-ti (張樹棣), director of the council's Department of Cultural and Educational Affairs, the advisers said in a council meeting that the first step is to let Chinese students, or employees of Taiwanese investors in China, take courses in Taiwanese schools. Chang said the council will study the feasibility of the suggestion. The government has started to promote cultural and educational exchanges with China, he said, adding that 123 Chinese graduate students have studied here on a short-term basis since 1996.
■ Biotechnology
Seminar held in Taipei
A seminar on biotechnology in the Netherlands was held yesterday in Taipei with the participation of government officials, experts, academics and representatives of the business sector from Holland and Taiwan. The seminar was sponsored by the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries Program Office (BPIPO) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office in Taipei. BPIPO Director Chen Chei-hsiang (陳啟祥) said that Taiwan and the Netherlands have similar experience in biotechnology development, particularly in the agricultural sector. Both countries consider one another as springboards for tapping the European and Asian markets, respectively, Chen said. The Dutch delegation to the meeting was headed by Dirk Bruinsma, director-general of foreign economic relations in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Bruinsma and his delegation also attended the 2003 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference held earlier this week.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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