■ Politics
Lu warns Beijing on games
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday if Chinese leaders don't learn to control rowdy sports fans, athletes will feel threatened when they go to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Lu said it was regrettable that soccer fans rioted in Beijing after Japan beat China 3-1 on Saturday in the Asian Cup final. She said in a briefing with foreign reporters that Chinese leaders must learn to control angry mobs before the 2008 games. "Otherwise, athletes who are able to defeat China's athletes will feel threatened. This would be a serious problem," she said. Lu added that she hoped that the Olympics will benefit China.
■ Travel
Penghu-Macau flight set
The maiden international charter flight from Penghu will take off today for Macau, with all seats fully booked, a TransAsia Airways spokesman said yesterday. The round-trip flight will make Makung Airport the first airport on an outlying island that can host international charter flights. The airport will also then become the nation's fifth international airport. The Civil Aeronautic Administration (CAA) approved TransAsia Airways' application for operating three round-trip charter flights between Penghu and Macau this month. The airline spokesman said the inauguration of charter flight services will benefit Penghu residents intending to visit Macau or to travel to China because the direct flight takes only one hour.
■ Foreign Affairs
Errant diplomat suspended
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday officially suspended diplomat Chang Jia-hua (張家華) from his duties for inadvertently issuing a passport and other documents to Yeh Hsiu-chen (葉秀貞), the wife of fugitive murder suspect Andrew Wang (汪傳浦) last month. Meanwhile, the involvement of Lily Hsu (徐儷文), a diplomat at the UK representative office, will be further investigated by the Control Yuan. However, newly resigned Taiwan representative to the UK, Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂), was not on the list of administrative punishment released by MOFA yesterday. Wang, an arms dealer suspected of involvement in the corruption-tainted sale of the Lafayette-class frigates to Taipei in the 1990s, is wanted in connection with the death of navy Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓).
■ Health
Association warns of fraud
Some foreign workers have taken advantage of loopholes in the National Health Insurance system by selling medicines that were paid for by their insurance here, wasting medical resources, a private medical group alleged yesterday. Some retired people have also given away their medicines to their relatives and friends in China, according to Wu Ming-yen, secretary-general of the Non-governmental Hospital and Clinics Association. The National Health Insurance spends about NT$94 billion (US$2.76 billion) annually on medicines, but a large part of this is believed to go to waste. Wu said that some retired people, especially those residing in China, give away their medicines to relatives and friends in China.. Wu said he suspects some patients may fail to treat their illnesses and then seek medical treatment in China and claim reimbursements from the National Health Insurance.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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