■ Education
Professor keeps post
The Chinese Culture University (文化大學) yesterday decided not to dismiss Lin Tsai-mei (林彩梅) from her post of professor after she was accused of helping her daughter to finish a dissertation on business and management by copying from Lin's book. The university, however, suggested dismissing Lin from her role as the director of the school of business before the next semester begins in February. Lin said yesterday that she was innocent and that her daughter, Su Tsui-yun (蘇翠芸), had just "cited" her books and not copied them. Chinese Nationalist Party Legislator Mu Ming-chu (穆閩珠), who is a trustee of the university, said she was not surprised that university president Chang Ching-hu (張鏡湖), Mu's husband, had permitted her to stay at the university because of the allegedly intimate relationship between Chang and Lin.
■ Cross-Strait Ties
Chen issues year-end plea
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) used his New Year address yesterday to call on China to remove the missiles aimed at Taiwan and to renounce the use of force. "We call on the Beijing authorities to publicly renounce the use of force and to remove the missile deployment against Taiwan," Chen said in his speech broadcast on radio and television. Chen said the referendum, to be held on March 20, is a basic human right for the nation's 23 million people. "The referendum is to preserve the status quo of a peaceful Taiwan," he said. In Beijing, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) also issued a New Year message yesterday, saying China wants peaceful reunification with Taiwan but opposes Taiwan independence. "We will carry on the principle of peaceful reunification and `one country, two systems,'" he said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
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