■ Legislative Yuan
Pro-Thailand group formed
Legislators from across the political spectrum formed an association yesterday to promote exchanges with Thailand's parliament. More than 10 Thai lawmakers, headed by Senator Tawil Praisont, are in Taipei to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Taiwan-Thailand Parliamentary Friendship Association (TTPFA). Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) and many lawmakers were also present at the ceremony. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chuang-chin (邱創進), one of the founders of the new organization, said the group will do its utmost to forge contacts and friendship with Thai lawmakers. "We hope our efforts can help make the Thai parliament become more supportive of Taiwan on major international issues," Chiu said.
■ Health
Condoms on demand
Hotels, hot springs and sauna parlors may be ordered to make condoms available to their customers in the latest attempt to curb the spread of AIDS, a cabinet official said yesterday. Owners of these facilities who fail to provide condoms through vending machines or on demand face a maximum fine of NT$30,000 if draft amendments to the AIDS Prevention Act (愛滋病防護法) approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday are passed by the legislature. A survey by Taipei's National Yang Ming University found that some 6.4 percent of gay sauna patrons were HIV carriers but only 40 percent of customers used condoms when having sex there. The government's move is meant to curb the spread of the disease, which has killed 920 people out of 5,283 recorded HIV carriers as of the end of last month. The number of carriers represents a 19-percent rise from a year ago.
■ Flowers
Orchid conference to open
The Eighth Asia-Pacific Orchid Conference will be held from March 6 to March 14 in Jenteh Township, Tainan County. It will be the first time Taiwan has hosted the event, one of the most important world-class events in its field, according to the Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday. Meanwhile, a large-scale orchid exhibition will be held in Taiwan to demonstrate varied applications of orchids in Taiwan. Because of its climate, Tainan County has been one of most important bases for the orchid industry in Taiwan for decades. COA officials said that Taiwan, the orchid kingdom, accounts for 77 percent of output of orchids globally. The exhibition could attract about 150,000 visitors. Local residents are encouraged to go to the exhibition, which has been listed as one of the events for Taiwan Tourism Year. For more information, visit the Web site www.apoc8.org.tw.
■ Seismic Activity
Two quakes jolt east coast
Two earthquakes shook eastern Taiwan yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported. A 4.5-magnitude quake first hit the southeastern coastal area at 10:09am around the township of Chengkung, 200km southeast of Taipei, the bureau said. Hours later, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted the northeastern coast at 12:33pm, though it was centered under the Pacific Ocean far from shore, the bureau said. The tremor's epicenter was about 113km southeast of the fishing port of Nan'ao in Ilan County, and was felt in Taipei.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
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