■ Religion
Zen summer camp opens
Sixty college students from nine countries, including students from Harvard and Yale universities, started a one-month Zen Buddhism camp yesterday at Foguangshan in Kaohsiung County. Master Tzu Jung (慈容), secretary-general of the Taiwan-based Buddha's Light International Association, welcomed the students, saying that preaching peace is borderless and that getting to know a religion is a way of knowing oneself. She noted that Master Hsin Yun (星雲), founder of Foguangshan, wrote in his book Tsai Geng Tan that "to know thyself comes from self-reflection." But she pointed out that it was often difficult to review and reflect in modern life and that people often say or do something wrong without even realizing it.
■ Finance
Firm could attract capital
The government hopes
that the Shenzhen-based Taiwanese company DXG Technology will be listed on Taiwan's stock exchange, an official at the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. DXG Technology, a maker of dual-mode camera and video drivers, is scheduled to hold its initial public offering next week. The company has yet to decide whether it will list on Taiwan's stock exchange or
in China. Recent newspaper reports have said DXG may be the first local company to shift investment capital in China back to Taiwan.
■ Cross-Strait Ties
MAC plugs peace framework
Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) issued a call for a peace framework to settle political disputes between Taiwan and China in a keynote article published in the latest edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review. Wu proposed that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait first set up a framework
to maintain peace and the status quo until they find a solution to end their long-term political problems. They should engage
in conciliation and cooperation rather
than confrontation and embarrassment, Wu said, adding that Taiwan is fully poised to work toward that end. He suggested that the peace framework could appear in the form of a joint declaration in which the establishment of negotiation mechanisms and military trust could be touched upon.
■ Diplomacy
New envoy meets Chen
New Malawi Ambassador Thengo Maloya presented his credentials to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday. Maloya presented the credentials in a ceremony held at the Presidential Office. Secretary-General
of the Presidential Office Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) and other Presidential Office officials were on hand to witness the ceremony. Chen welcomed Maloya to his
new post, lauding him as an outstanding statesman who served as a parliamentarian for 36 years and in various posts in the Cabinet. Maloya's appointment demonstrates the solid relations between the two countries, he said. Chen also expressed his appreciation to Malawi for speaking up for Taiwan's bids to join the
UN and other international organizations. He also
asked Maloya to convey his congratulations to President Bingu Wa Mutharika on
his election victory, and to thank former president Bakili Muluzi for his longstanding friendship and support for Taiwan. Chen also thanked former ambassador Eunice Kazembe for the contribution she made in promoting bilateral relations and congratulated her on her new Cabinet post.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
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