■ Politics
13 million eligible to vote
More than 13 million people are eligible to vote in the Dec. 3 local government elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said yesterday. The CEC has completed initial tallies of eligible voters for the simultaneous elections for city and county government chiefs, city and county councilors and township amd village chiefs. According to the tallies, 13,587,635 citizens are eligible to vote in city mayor/county commissioner elections. For the township/village chief elections, the number of eligible voters stands at 11,484,871. Meanwhile 13,281,916 citizens are eligible to vote in regional elections for city/county councilors, 168,024 people are eligible to vote in urban Aboriginal city/county council seats and 112,979 people are eligible to vote in mountainous aboriginal city/county council seats. Except for the nation's two largest municipalities -- Taipei and Kaohsiung -- all other local government top posts are up for grabs, including the islands of Kinmen and Matsu.
■ Politics
Councilor raised in Taiwan
The Vancouver City Council election has seen the election of B.C. Lee (黎拔佳) to the city council, the first councilman with a Taiwan connection to be elected in this capacity. Lee was born in Macau and raised in Taiwan, studied at New York University and is vice president of Fireglo Strategic Marketing and Communications, which describes itself as a "cross-cultural event planning and marketing organization." Although three out of ten members of the Vancouver City Council, after the most recent election, are ethnic Chinese, a proportion that is a fair reflection of the Chinese population of the city, this is the first time that someone brought up in Taiwan has been elected. Lee was nominated in the previous city council elections, but was edged out by 500 votes.
■ Tourism
Lucky businessman feted
A businessman yesterday became the 1 millionth Japanese visitor to Taiwan this year, receiving heaps of gifts and ?1 million (US$8,400) to spend on Taiwanese goods at the expense of Taiwan's government, the tourism board said. Yushiyuki Yamawakei, 24, raised his hands in delight when officials told him that he was the landmark Japanese arrival. In addition to a credit card with which he can spend ?1 million in Taiwan, Yamawakei received 100 gifts, including tea, wine, handicrafts and other Taiwanese produce, the Taiwan Tourist Board said in a statement. The annual number of Japanese visitors to Taiwan has not exceeded the 1 million mark in the past few decades. But the tourist board said it expects a record 1.1 million Japanese tourists this year -- a 30 percent increase from last year.
■ Environment
Su lauds `green' buildings
Taiwan has 836 public and private "green buildings" that save energy and are environmentally friendly, and more are planned, Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said yesterday. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2005 Green Building International Conference, Su said that Taiwan has already passed a law to construct more "green buildings" and the ones already built not only save on electricity consumption, but also conserve a significant amount of drinking water. The minister also said that the government has plans to help refurbish old buildings to make them more environmentally friendly. There are 400 buildings already earmarked for restoration.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
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