■ Politics
Ma can `handle' two jobs
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said that he has no intention of stepping down from his current post as Taipei mayor despite concern over his double duties. "I'd like to extend my personal gratitude for people's concern, but I can handle it," he told reporters after hearing a report at the disaster response center located at the third floor of the city fire department. Ma assured the approximately 870,000 Taipei citizens who elected him in 2002 that he would not forget his mandate and would continue his job until his term expired.
■ Elections
CEC offers election plan
The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday said that it hopes to finalize the redistricting of constituencies by September next year, paving the way for the legislative election in 2007. "We have already mapped out a draft principle, which has been sent to our regional offices to solicit opinions," said CEC spokesman and Deputy Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (鄧天祐). After the National Assembly in June ratified the constitutional amendments passed by the legislature last August, the number of constituencies will be increased from the current 29 to 73 because the amendments adopt a "single-member district, two-vote" system for legislative elections. As the election is scheduled for 2007, boundaries of the new constituencies are required by law to be made available to the public one year before the election.
■ Politics
Chen offers truce with Ma
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) called Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to propose a leaders' summit with him and other opposition leaders in a bid to iron out differences over major government policies, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman said yesterday. "We hope to see a friendly response from the KMT," said DPP Information and Culture Department Director Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦). "As Ma will not take the oath of office until August, we will be patiently waiting, and do not rule out the possibility of conducting direct negotiations if necessary." Cheng also expressed the party's hope to see the legislature call an extraordinary session now that the KMT chairmanship election is over. The DPP legislative caucus has filed a request for such a session and is awaiting approval from other legislative caucuses.
■ Weather
Typhoon cancels flights
A number of airlines using CKS International Airport are starting to change their flight schedules as Typhoon Haitang approaches. The storm, which is classified as a super typhoon, is expected to hit the coast of eastern Taiwan today. United Airlines announced yesterday that it will cancel this morning's Flight UA830 for Tokyo and UA890 for Nagoya, Japan. Japan Asia Airways also decided to cancel all its flights that were originally scheduled to take off before 4pm today. A spokesman for Mandarin Airlines said the airlines will cancel all its domestic flights today and delay the departure of chartered Flight AE825 for Nagoya by 24 hours. EVA Airways reminded passengers to check with the airlines before heading to the airport for any possible changes.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taiwan is bracing for a political shake-up as a majority of directly elected lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) face the prospect of early removal from office in an unprecedented wave of recall votes slated for July 26 and Aug. 23. The outcome of the public votes targeting 26 KMT lawmakers in the next two months — and potentially five more at later dates — could upend the power structure in the legislature, where the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) currently hold a combined majority. After denying direct involvement in the recall campaigns for months, the
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