■ Health
Chen appeals to voters
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged voters to cast ballots in the referendum to demonstrate Taiwan's commitment to pursuing peace. He made the appeal during an inspection tour of Hsinchu County. "I beg all voters to support
the referendum because it offers a precious opportu-nity for them to express to the world and China their desire for peace," Chen said. "And no matter which candidate you vote for, you should not miss the referen-dum. We should use the referendum to say `no' to Beijing's missile threat and reaffirm our commitment
to pursuing peace and avoiding war. And let's use the referendum to write a new chapter for our national history," Chen said.
■ Health
New cases of bird flu found
The government reported two new outbreaks of the H5N2 bird flu virus yesterday and ordered a cull at the affected farms. A Changhua County farm was ordered
to cull 11,400 chickens after the virus was detected there on Thursday, said Yeh Ying (葉瑩), deputy director of
the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine. The virus was also detected in 64 pheasants which died at a bird farm in southern Tainan, she said, adding that the remaining pheasants and other birds on the farm will be slaughtered.
■ Politics
Yu defends economic record
Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday that the nation's economic performance
had been better than that of Hong Kong, South Korea
and Singapore last year, and the jobless rate was the lowest of the four. He made the remarks during a general question and answer session
in the legislature. People First Party Legislator Ing Nai-ping (殷乃平) claimed that economic indicators have shown a decline in the economy since the Demo-cratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power. Yu
said that Taiwan's perfor-mance had been better than other nations at a time of global deflation. He noted that there was a gap between the figures cited by Ing and those of the government. Yu said that Ing had claimed that total private investment last year amounted to NT$1 trillion (US$30.21 billion), although major construction projects alone amounted to NT$1.5 trillion that year.
■ Politics
Tampering allegations made
DPP Legislator Kao Meng-ting (高孟定) yesterday alleged that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) tampered with justice to help Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Jung-wei's (張榮味) bid for a retrial on bribery charges. The charges stemmed from Chang's campaign for the county council's speaker post in 1994. Kao said that when the legislature was reviewing candidates for the Council of Grand Justices last year, Wang promised
to have all candidates confirmed in exchange for
a retrial for Chang. Kao said that Wang had been seeking Chang's support for the pan-blue's presidential ticket. Chang was sentenced to one year and six months in prison, but is awaiting the verdict of his retrial. Wang has denied Kao's allegation.
■ Diplomacy
Donations for Paraguayans
The government has donated US$300,000 to a humani-tarian group led by Para-guay's first lady Gloria de Duarte Frutos to be invested in social programs, the presidential press office
said yesterday. The funds will be used for recreational facilities and centers for feeding needy children, the statement said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
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