■ Cross-Strait Ties
China urged to improve
The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday urged China to strengthen its human rights protection and make human rights its top national development goal. Council Vice Chairman Johnnasson Liu (劉德勳) made the call after the US State Department's latest human-rights report said human-rights conditions in China have regressed in the past year. Liu said the council hopes that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can make human rights their ultimate national development goal and cooperate in realizing this noble goal.
■ Politics
Vote-buying widespread
Nearly 300 cases of alleged bribery and election-related violence have been reported to authorities ahead of the March 20 election, a high-ranking justice official said yesterday. Ministry of Justice Chief Secretary Wang Tien-sheng (王添盛) told reporters that 294 cases had been reported so far. The ministry is offering a reward of up to NT$15 million (US$455,000) to anybody who can prove a presidential candidate is buying votes. The government is running a series of TV ads to highlight the issue, including warnings to the public not to accept gifts, free trips or meals from anyone linked with a campaign. Publicity packages handed out at political events that include gifts worth more than NT$30 are also considered to be bribery, Wang said.
■ Business
Helicopter parts deal inked
Bell Helicopter Textron of the US signed a contract with two Taiwanese plane makers yesterday to make spare parts for Bell AH-1Z and UH-1Y military helicopters. The contract was signed at the Ministry of Economic Affairs by Bell's chief executive officer Mike Redenbaugh and the chairmen of Aeronautics Industrial Development Center (AIDC) and Topkey Corp. Under the contract, AIDC will make tail booms and Topkey will make engine cowlings for the US Marine Corps' AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters. The two contracts are worth US$10 million. "This is the first time the US government has agreed to outsource military helicopter parts used by US Marines to Taiwanese suppliers. This shows that our capability has been recognized by major aerospace companies," said Chen Chao-yi (陳昭義), director of the Industrial Development Bureau, at the signing ceremony. The deal is the second technology agreement between Bell Helicopter and Taiwanese aeronautics firms. In 1999, Bell moved its assembly line for OH-58D military scout helicopters and commercial Bell 406s to AIDC.
■ Human Rights
US gives Taiwan high marks
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) expressed satisfaction yesterday with a US government report on Taiwan's human rights situation. Chien said that the annual report released Wednesday by the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which gave Taiwan good grades, represents US affirmation of Taiwan's democratic development. It also serves as evidence that Taiwan's democracy and human rights are as mature as those of advanced nations, according to Chien. According to the US State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practice 2003, Taiwan is a multiparty democracy and its authorities generally respect the human rights of the citizens. Taiwan's Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the authorities also generally respect these rights in practice, it states.
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
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
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