■ Defense
Army simulates invasion
The army practiced fending off a Chinese invasion force by staging a street battle for the first time yesterday, conducting a drill that had only been simulated on computers in the past. Some 1,700 soldiers took part in the exercise. "The main purpose of the drill is to examine our command and fighting capabilities," said an army spokesman. The drill consisted of one group of soldiers forging their way northwards from Pingtung County to meet another group coming from Taichung. They staged a mock battle across a bridge in Tainan County. The two groups were identified only by the colors red and blue, which traditionally represent the Chinese and Taiwan armies, respectively. The spokesman said such roles were not specifically assigned for this exercise and denied media reports that the military had assumed that China's People's Liberation Army was forcing its way north after making a successful landing in the south.
■ Society
Foreigners turn up safe
A French national and two Britons turned up safe late yesterday, just as police were about to start a search for them in the southern stretch of the Central Mountain Range. The trio walked out of the mountains around 7pm, one day later than their schedule, police said. The police said that 47-year-old Philippe Desgran, and 63-year-old Colin Snow work for the Taiwan High Speed Rail Co while Tim Boyle, 46, was a friend of theirs. The trio started their trek from Hsiangyangshan last Thurs-day and were scheduled to finish their journey at Hsiaokuanshan in eastern Taitung County on Sunday, police said. When Desgran and Snow did not show up for work yesterday, their company filed a report with the police.
■ Cross-strait ties
Red Cross visits Xiamen
A 30-member delegation of the Kinmen chapter of Taiwan's Red Cross Society sailed from Kinmen yester-day to Xiamen, for a five day visit. Wang Shui-chang (王水彰), president of the chapter, said the group will preside over the inaugura-tion of a liaison office in Xiamen on Thursday, as well as visit Red Cross organizations in several cities in Fujian to discuss humanitarian aid. Wang said services need to be expanded since more prob-lems are emerging from the growing contacts between people of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait since the "small three links" were opened in 2001. The group will return home on Friday.
■ Foreign aid
Money for quake victims
The government donated ¥8 million (US$75,902) yesterday to help Japanese people affected by the recent earthquakes and aftershocks in Niigata Prefecture. Representative to Japan Ko Se-kai (許世楷) presented the donation to Masaji Takahashi, president of the Japanese Interchange Association (JIA). Major Japanese news media, including NHK and the Mainichi Shimbun, sent reporters to cover the donation ceremony. The JIA will forward the fund to the relevant authorities for various post-earthquake relief programs. Deputy representative to Japan Chen Hung-chi (陳鴻基) donated ?2 million shortly after the Oct. 30 quake on behalf of the government. Chen also traveled to the disaster zone to convey President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Premier Yu Shyi-kun's concern for the earthquake victims.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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