■ Politics
Get a plan, Ma told
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
A People First Party (PFP) legislator yesterday urged Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to take steps toward a future presidential run by proposing a concrete vision for Taiwan's future -- instead of appealing for sympathy about the difficult situation in which he finds himself. "Objectively speaking, Ma is without question the only hope for the pan-blue alliance," said Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), PFP legislative caucus leader. "However, he must draw up a blueprint for ruling the country," Liu said. Liu said that the media has paid a lot of attention recently to Ma's so-called "combat staff," saying that Ma appears as if he likes to spend too much time talking about how much pressure his administration is under, which only seems to demonstrate a lack of will. "There are so many things that he could do, but so few thing he has done," Liu said. "Right now, focusing on the issue of organizing a `combat staff' makes Ma look like an opportunist," Liu said. "The future of the pan-blue camp must be based on a vision, not on how many people belong to anyone's team," Liu said, adding that the public will reach its own judgements about Ma's effectiveness -- especially while Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) is passing important laws in the legislature.
■ Health
Quitter wins
Hualien County resident Chang Chien-kuo (張建國) tasted something sweeter than cigarette smoke when he won NT$600,000 (US$17,910) yesterday in an annual "quit and win" contest. Officials of the John Tung Foundation, which sponsored the contest, said that 30,096 people took part in this year's contest. Chang was chosen as the top winner in a random computer draw. Chang, 33, who had puffed up to 50 cigarettes a day, said he made up his mind to quit after learning that his wife was pregnant early this year. Health Minister Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said more than half of Taiwan's people start smoking before age 18.
■ Public Safety
Youths join in Police Day
Kaohsiung County's police department celebrated Police Day yesterday with a series of activities that included participation by juvenile delinquents from a local reformatory school. More than 500 guests joined in the event's activities, which focused on performances by youths that included traditional dragon dancing, a street dance and a drum performance. In addition to honoring some 60 distinguished and veteran police officers, Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) urged the Kaohsiung County Police Department to introduce a more humane work schedule to reduce the level of stress faced by police officers.
■ Animal husbandry
Ducks chanted at
Some farmers play Buddhist chants to ducks to calm them down in the summer heat and make them lay more eggs, a television station reported yesterday. "Some duck farm owners in southern Taiwan are playing cassettes of Buddhist sutras to ducks to calm them down because ducks get agitated in hot weather," Chinese Television System (CTS) reported. "Playing Buddhist chants has also caused ducks to lay more eggs. The percentage of ducks laying eggs rises from 8 percent when no music is played to 10 percent when Buddhist music is played," CTS said." Also, the ducks lay more double-yolk eggs," the station said. Many Taiwanese farmers play music to make cows produce more milk, while some pig farmers play music to make pigs grow.
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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