■ Education
Chen's resignation approved
Premier Frank Hsieh yesterday approved Council of Indigenous Peoples Chairman Chen Chien-nien's (陳建年) resignation from the position and is expected to nominate Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU) Legislator Walis Palin (瓦歷斯貝林) as the council's new head today, according to the Central News Agency (CNA). Walis is a pan-blue-friendly (NPSU) politician. Chen has been indicted for allegedly buying votes for his daughter Chen Ying (陳瑩) in last year's legislative elections. Chen Ying was elected as the first Aboriginal legislator to represent the Democratic Progressive Party in the legislature.
■ Politics
Wang hints at running
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said that he might run for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship if Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) decides not to take part in the vote among party members. Responding to questions from reporters at the Legislative Yuan, Wang said he would consider running for the party's highest post only if Lien decided not to participate. It was the first time that Wang, a vice chairman of the KMT, revealed his intent to run. As to a media report that KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤) might also join the contest and stands a good chance of winning, Wang claimed that he was not aware of this before reading newspaper reports. Meanwhile, aides to Chiang said he had no knowledge of the matter and called the report media speculation.
■ Politics
Bill spurs legislative reply
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) will call for cross-party negotiations to seek support for a legislative resolution voicing opposition to China's proposed anti-secession legislation. The decision was made at yesterday's plenary legislative session after the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus filed a motion asking the legislature to respond to the planned legislation. TSU caucus whip Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said the legislature is obligated to express the public's position on the matter. "Taiwan is an independent sovereign state and not part of China. The people of Taiwan should have the right to decide their own future and destiny and pursue such common values as freedom, human rights, democracy and peace," Lo said. China's proposed law not only infringes on Taiwan's sovereignty and identity, but will also meet with opposition and abhorrence from Taiwanese people, Lo said. "China should immediately stop the passage of the law, which is detrimental to mutual understanding and cross-strait exchanges and will alienate the people of Taiwan and China," he said.
■ Politics
Legislators sue UMC chair
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators Lo Chih-ming (羅志明), David Huang (黃適卓), Tseng Tsan-teng (曾燦燈) and Chen Yin-ho (陳銀河) yesterday filed a libel suit against United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠). On Feb. 23, Tsao ran an open letter in various newspapers stating that members of the TSU were regarded as "clowns" by the public. The TSU decided to bring a case against Tsao. According to Lo, the TSU had uncovered illegal investment by UMC in China ahead of a probe by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. However, UMC denied any illegal investment. Tsao later admitted to having had a close relationship with China's He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co, contradicting his earlier denial.
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
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