■ Religion
Pope gives money to Taiwan
The Holy See has donated US$500,000 to the Catholic Diocese of Kaohsiung to show its concern over the Catholic community's development in Taiwan and to demonstrate Pope John Paul II's friendship toward the people of Taiwan. Well-placed sources in the Vatican said yesterday that the donation has already been given by the Holy See's envoy in Taipei to His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan (單國璽), who is also bishop of the Diocese of Kaohsiung. The money will be used for charity work in the diocese. Saying that the pope has always been concerned about poor people, refugees and minority groups around the world, the sources said that the donation illustrates that the head of the Holy See has not forgotten such people in Taiwan. Taiwan donated US$500,000 to the Vatican in October in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the pope.
■ Communication
Broadcast act passed
Lawmakers passed the draft Act on Communications and Distribution (通訊傳播基本法) yesterday, providing a legal foundation for the planned National Communications Commission (國家通訊傳播委 員會, NCC) under the Executive Yuan. "The NCC should be established to integrate management of industries of telecom-munications, cable television, satellite and wireless broadcasting in this country. The government surveillance of broadcasting content should be open, while media industries are required to have high standards of self-discipline," the act states. The act also stipulates that the government should provide incentives to develop new media technology while helping to protect the interests of audiences by monitoring the service of media industries.
■ Cross-strait ties
Premier responds to Hu
Speaking at an inauguration ceremony for an anti-human-smuggling task force in Keelung yesterday, Premier Yu Shyi-kun outlined four demands for Beijing at the inauguration campaign yesterday. First, he asked Beijing to carry out direct charter-flights during the Lunar New Year. Second, he wants the Straits Exchange Foundation to be allowed to establish branch offices in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. Thirdly, he wants to re-establish the cross-strait dialog as soon as possible. Finally, he requested that the nearly 500 DF-11 and DF-12 missiles targeting Taiwan be dismantled immediately. Yu made the comments in response to a speech given by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to Taiwanese business leaders in Beijing on Thursday.
■ Cross-strait ties
China urged to seek peace
The government is happy to see that both sides of the Taiwan Strait think highly of Taiwan businessmen, but hopes that China will take substantive action to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) said yesterday. Chiou was responding to Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) remarks the previous day when he received the presidents of Taiwanese businessmen's associations in China and told them he will make every effort to achieve the peaceful unification of China. "Our cross-strait policy remains steady," Chiou said, adding that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has said repeatedly that his advocacy of "one country on each side of Taiwan Strait," and "defensive referendum" are not attempts to change the status quo and have nothing to do with Taiwan independence, nor are they provocations. They are intended to strengthen Taiwan's democracy and maintain peace in the region, Chiou said, which is "our basic stance," although China might have a different interpretation.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
Taiwanese singer Jay Chou (周杰倫) plans to take to the courts of the Australian Open for the first time as a competitor in the high-stakes 1 Point Slam. The Australian Open yesterday afternoon announced the news on its official Instagram account, welcoming Chou — who celebrates his 47th birthday on Sunday — to the star-studded lineup of the tournament’s signature warm-up event. “From being the King of Mandarin Pop filling stadiums with his music to being Kato from The Green Hornet and now shifting focus to being a dedicated tennis player — welcome @jaychou to the 1 Point Slam and #AusOpen,” the
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