■ Earthquake
Taitung rocked by temblor
A moderate quake shook the southeast yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported. The magnitude-4.4 quake was centered under the Pacific Ocean about 22km east of Taitung, the bureau said.
■ Defense
No change to name policy
The practice of using the names of cities in China for the names of Taiwan's war-ships will remain unchanged, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. Major General Huang Suey-sheng (黃穗生) made the remark amid criticism by some legislators that Tai-wanization should take precedence over siniciza-tion. Huang said that under the Constitution, the names of warships are to be taken from the geographical names defined by the Constitution as national land and from national heroes. He said the principle of naming warships will not change and there is no political consideration involved since the defense ministry acts in accordance with the Constitution. He also noted that the ministry has used places in Taiwan for the names of some vessels.
■ Travel
China trip warning issued
Farms in China should be scratched from travel itineraries because the northwest Xinjian region has been hit by an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday. Bureau of Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine officials said wire agency reports from Beijing said there was an epidemic in Xinjiang, a major livestock producing area. "Carrying out cross-strait exchange activities frequently does increase the challenge of Taiwan's epidemic prevention and control tasks," Hsiao Tsung-yao (蕭宗堯), a division director at the bureau, told the Taipei Times. Hundreds of outbreaks of foot and mouth disease have been observed over the past 40 years in China, including Yunnan, a top destination for Taiwanese tourists. Hsiao said Taiwan has never imported products made from Chinese rumi-nants, such as cattle, sheep and pigs. Hsiao urged local residents not to purchase related products whose sources remain unidentified.
■ Cross-strait ties
More illegals for Kinmen
Illegal Chinese immigrants will be sent to Kinmen and Matsu for temporary deten-tion to facilitate repatriation, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Johnnason Liu (劉德勳) said yesterday. Liu told the Tainan City Government that Beijing has often delayed in taking back illegal Chinese immi-grants for political reasons. As a result, it usually takes more than 100 days for Chinese authorities to send ships to take back Chinese immi-grants, adding to Taiwan's financial burden and staff workload. In some cases, he said, illegal Chinese immigrants have to stay far longer in Taiwan's detention centers. For instance, a group of illegals seized on March 18 were not repatriated until late August due to Beijing's reluctance to cooperate. Liu said the government is constructing a new deten-tion center in Kinmen which will be inaugurated by the end of the year. There are two detention centers for Chinese illegals already, one in Hsinchu and one in Ilan. There is also one in Matsu. "Once the Kinmen detention center is com-pleted, it will accommodate all illegal mainland immi-grants seized in Taiwan proper," Liu said.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
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