■ Technology
Solar car exhibit opens
A three-month exhibition of solar-powered cars opened yesterday at the National Taiwan Science Education Center in Taipei, according to Cheng Jung-ho (鄭榮和), a professor at National Taiwan University (NTU). The event is being co-organized by the National Taiwan Science Education Center and NTU's Mechanical Engineering Department. All the cars on display were developed and built by NTU students with the help of their teachers. The theme of the exhibition will revolve around the development of solar cars from Formosun I to Formosun II. Another focus is how inventors of Formosun surmounted difficulties to compete in a grueling 3,100km race in Australia earlier this year.
■ Athletics
`Tour de Taiwan' starts
The seven-day international cycling tournament, "Tour de Taiwan 2004," kicked off yesterday in the southern county of Kaohsiung, with 15 teams from around the world competing. Yesterday's competition began from Liukuei village, with Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing, officials from the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the Chinese Taipei Cycling Association presiding over the starting ceremony. Milatz Moritz, representing the European team, won yesterday's 100km leg of the tournament with a time of 2 hours, 31 minutes and 25.54 seconds, only 0.15 seconds ahead of his Japanese rival. today's leg will include 30 laps around Kaohsiung's Love River. The other legs will include routes around Sun Moon Lake, over Hohuanshan and around the east coast.
■ Diplomatic allies
Rodriguez to be jailed
A Costa Rican judge Friday ordered former Costa Rican president Miguel Angel Rodriguez, accused of taking bribes from French and Spanish firms and the Taiwanese government, jailed for six months of preventive custody, court sources said. Rodriguez, forced to resign earlier this month as head of the Organization of American States, has been under house arrest since he was taken into custody Oct. 16, shortly after his return from Washington. He is accused of taking US$1.4 million in bribes from Taiwan, hundreds of thousands of dollars from French multinational Alcatel and US$100,000 from the Spanish firm Inabense in exchange for greasing trade deals.
■ Politics
`Parties Act' proposed
Premier Yu Shyi-kun promised yesterday that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will push through a Political Parties Act to transform the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) into a "democratic party" if the DPP seizes over half of the seats in the Dec. 11 legislative elections. The party will also pass a special statute to retrieve the ill-gotten assets of the KMT for the nation and introduce a National Pensions Act to provide better care for the elderly, Yu said. He was speaking to supporters during the opening of the legislative election campaign headquarters of DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in Hsinchu. Yu said the DPP will have a free hand to do a lot of things for the country if it can take control of the Legislative Yuan. He attacked the "pan-blue alliance" for blocking many bills that should have been passed.
■ Environment
Coastal project planned
The Construction and Planning Agency under the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday it is reviewing a project on natural environment protection of the coastal areas of Taiwan. Agency officials noted that Taiwan is surrounded by sea with diverse biological and landscape resources along its coastal areas, and said that management and protection of these resources will ensure their sustainable development. They noted that the Ministry of the Interior set up 12 coastal protection areas, including the mouth of the Tamsui River, the coast around Kenting, and the Northeast Coast, between 1984 and 1987. In addition, the agency started to review Taiwan's coastal areas in 2001 in three stages and it is expected that the third stage will be completed by the middle of next year, making it possible for planning, management and conservation of the country's coast.
■ Ham Radio
Group joins contest
A group of ham radio fanatics in Taiwan joined other amateur radio operators around the world on air yesterday in the 2004 CQ World Wide SSB Contest. The Taiwanese participants consisted of 16 members of the Chinese Taipei Amateur Radio League (CTARL) , led by secretary-general Yu Tai-ping (余台平). They are required to contact via single sideband (SSB) radio with amateurs in as many zones and countries as possible in 48 hours from 0000 GMT Oct. 30 to 2400 GMT Oct. 31. The CTARL members, who operate a station codenamed "BO0K" on the frontline island of Kinmen, said they aim to reach 10,000 radio operators worldwide during that period.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
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
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
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