■ Cross-strait Ties
PFP's Tsai off to China
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Tsai Shen-chia (蔡勝佳) left yesterday on an individual trip to China to give a speech on agriculture. Speaking to reporters before his departure, Tsai, who will head the delegation the PFP legislative caucus plans to send to China next week, said he would not be going to Beijing on this trip and would only be talking about agriculture. Tsai is also chairman of the Tainan County Farmers' Association. However, during a press conference later in the day, the PFP's legislative caucus emphasized that Tsai is representing the party on this trip. The motivation of his trip is to work for Taiwan's farmers, said PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄). Liu said the caucus is fully supportive of Tsai and his efforts.
■ Aid
Medical group departs
A four-member medical mission has traveled to Indonesia to help with post-earthquake relief work, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday. The group will offer medical services to survivors of the March 29 earthquake that struck off Sumatra, the official said. According to the official, the temblor resulted in the death or injury of more than 1,000 people, with Nias bearing the brunt of devastation. Out of humanitarian concern, the government has donated US$50,000 in cash and a large number of body bags to the Indonesian government, the official said, adding that the ministry has also told the representative office in Jakarta to buy US$10,000 worth of rice to help feed the quake survivors.
■ Labor
Employees unhappy with pay
Most employees earn less than NT$400,000 (US$12,700) per year and 91 percent of them and dissatisfied with their pay, according to the results of a poll made public yesterday. Some 26.7 percent of the respondents said that they earn an annual salary of between NT$390,000 and NT$300,000, while 24.8 percent and 22.1 percent claimed that they receive an annual salary less than NT$200,000 and between NT$200,000 and NT$290,000, respectively, according to the results of the survey carried out by the executive search Web site www.1111.com.tw. Only 1.43 percent of employees enjoy an annual salary of more than NT$1 million, making a per-capita salary of NT$342,300 per year, according to the poll. Employees aged between 31 and 35 get an annual salary of NT$448,100 on average, while those aged between 30 and 26 receive an average of NT$344,100. The 25-21 age group earn an average annual salary of NT$266,800. Some 82 percent of employees said that they are not satisfied with their pay, with only 6.6 percent satisfied with their earnings. About 91 percent dream of enjoying an annual salary of over NT$1 million, and those already achieving the goal said that it took them 5.09 years to reach that point.
■ Culture
Chinese explorer honored
A private group is organizing activities to observe the 600th anniversary of the naval expeditions led by Ming dynasty explorer Zheng He (鄭和). The Chinese Zheng He Society, founded by Liu Tah-tsai (劉達材), a retired admiral, with former minister of education Wu Jin (吳京) as honorary chairman, will host lectures and international symposiums and other activities to mark Cheng Ho's first naval voyage -- aimed at increasing the prestige of the emperor of the Ming dynasty -- in 1405. Taipei City Councilor Pan Huai-tsung (潘懷宗) said Wu will give a lecture on Cheng at the Taipei City Council tomorrow.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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