■ Society
Sports heroes honored
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday decorated three elderly athletes -- Yang Chuan-kuang (楊傳廣), Chi Cheng (紀政) and Tseng Chi-en (曾紀恩) -- with the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon in recognition of their contributions to the nation's athletics. Yang, better known as the "Iron Man of Asia," burst onto the international sports scene at the 1954 Asian Games, winning the gold in the decathlon. He won a silver medal in the decathlon in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Chi competed at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and finally won a bronze medal in the 80m hurdles in Mexico City in 1968. Tseng served as coach of several national baseball teams that took part in international tournaments. Yang said he hoped the government would give greater importance to sports development. Chi promised to continue to help improve the nation's athletic development, while Tseng thanked Chen for attaching great importance to the development of baseball and called on the government to channel greater efforts into training programs.
■ Education
Fewer students go abroad
The number of students seeking advanced studies abroad has been decreasing over the past 10 years, according to the Ministry of Education, which fears that if the trend continues, the nation will run short of manpower for international competition. Data from the US Institute for International Education show that during the 2001-2002 academic year, 28,930 Taiwanese studied in the US, the fifth largest number of all foreign students. China ranked second, with 63,211, next only to India's 66,836. In the 2003-2004 academic year, Taiwan's ranking slipped to sixth, with 26,178 students, a decrease of 7 percent from the previous year. The ministry said the number of students heading to the UK, Canada, Australia and Japan is also declining. Michael Porter, a Harvard University professor, has warned that if China's training of advanced manpower approaches or even surpasses that of Taiwan, then Taiwan will have trouble with its further development.
■ Diplomacy
Medical donation made
Vice Interior Minister Chang Wen-ying (張溫鷹) donated 400 wheelchairs as well as other medical equipment and supplements worth almost US$150,000 to Panama on behalf of the government at a ceremony in Panama City on Sunday. Delivering the donation was Chang's major mission on her visit to Panama City, where she also attended a Latin American conference on human rights for the mentally and physically challenged on behalf of first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍). During the opening ceremony for the meeting, Panamanian first lady Vivian Fernandez de Torrijos thanked Taiwan for the donation and its help in providing disabled people with vocational skills. Chang also visited the ministries of the interior and social development on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation.
■ Politics
Lee to attend WFDA meet
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and four other former national leaders will take part in the inaugural meeting of the World Forum for Democratization in Asia (WFDA) in Taipei tomorrow. More than 100 officials from governments and civic groups from more than 20 Asian countries will take part in the three-day meeting at the the Taipei International Convention Center. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) have been invited to give speeches.
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
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
INTEL: China’s ships are mapping strategic ocean floors, including near Guam, which could aid undersea cable targeting and have military applications, a report said China’s oceanographic survey and research ships are collecting data in the Indo-Pacific region — possibly to aid submarine navigation, detect or map undersea cables, and lay naval mines — activities that could have military applications in a conflict with Taiwan or the US, a New York Times report said. The article, titled “China Surveys Seabeds Where Naval Rivals May One Day Clash,” was written by Chris Buckley and published on Thursday. Starboard Maritime Intelligence data revealed that Chinese research ships last year repeatedly scanned the ocean floor east of Taiwan’s maritime border, and about 400km east and west of Guam; “waters that
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