■ Cross-strait ties
Yu comments on PFP's bill
The Presidential Office has "three bottom lines" for the enactment of a proposed "cross-strait peace promotion law," President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) chief of staff Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday. At a party in honor of members of the media, Yu said that the bottom lines are that there is no "1992 consensus" on sovereignty or "one China" policy; that if an office is created to take responsibility for the implementation of the "peace law," it is acceptable that it be established under the Presidential Office; and that the "peace law's" content or stipulations should not infringe on the purview of the president and should comply with the principles of the Constitution. This marks the first time that the Presidential Office has made any statement on the proposed "cross-strait peace promotion law" initiated by the People First Party that is currently under debate in the Legislative Yuan. Yu, the secretary-general of the Presidential Office, reiterated that as long as the draft law complies with the three bottom lines, the Presidential Office will not interfere in either its enactment or its implementation.
■ Transit
MRT seeks correct English
To be able to provide information that uses correct English, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) is organizing a competition to identify errors in its English publications from Sunday to July 31. During this period, the general public will be invited to find errors in the MRT's public displays and in publication materials. The TRTC says that the activity is aimed at improving Taipei's bilingual environment and raising the city's international image, and that their goal is to provide all relevant publications, Web sites and signs in both Chinese and English. The scope of the competition includes finding errors in spelling, word usage, sequence, translation and grammar. Participants who correctly identify errors that do not overlap with entries of other participants will each receive a "Beitou Resort Recreation Center One-day Ticket." Detailed information can be found at the TRTC's bilingual Web site at www.trtc.com.tw/
■ Society
Most teenagers are unhappy
Nearly 70 percent of Taiwan's teenagers do not feel they are leading a happy life, and what troubles them most is academic performance, lack of communication with parents, and the inability to overcome depression and cope with pressures in life, a survey released Thursday found. The Carnegie Training Center surveyed 2,167 young people aged between 13 and 18 last year and found that the traditional value of emphasizing academic achievement has become the top worry of Taiwan's young people. Hei Yu-lung (黑幼龍), an analyst with the training center, said most parents in Taiwan are willing to spend a great deal of money to get their kids into the best school, without realizing that it is self-confidence, communication ability and human relationships that affect a person's life at home, work and in society. Looking into why Taiwan's teenagers do not usually have good communication skills, Hei found that they spend most of their time studying, while leisure time is spent surfing the Internet, watching TV, playing computer games or talking on their cellphones. "They do not have a lot of chances to practice their communication skills, so they remain quite aloof from their peers and parents," he said, suggesting that they try to go beyond just being "academic achievers" and be more creative in developing their potential and enjoy life.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
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