■ Health
Smokers won't feel tax hike
Government Information Office Minister Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said the NT$5 hike in the health tax on cigarettes that went into effect on Thursday will not affect the price of locally-made cigarettes. The tax was increased from NT$5 per pack to NT$10. Using the term "donation," Cheng said the tax will be collected from the manufacturers upon the production or arrival of the cigarettes instead of charging customers. Sources at the Ministry of Finance said it is "not feasible" to recover the additional NT$5 from retailers considering the massive number of distributors and the huge costs that would be incurred. Consumers of imported cigarettes may not notice the additional tax either, as Cheng said manufacturers had already changed the labels on their packs to note that NT$10 was collected for the health donation, although consumers were actually paying a NT$5 per pack donation prior to Thursday. He said the finance ministry will collect the additional NT$5 added to price of cigarettes imported before Thursday, which should amount to more than NT$1 billion (US$30.8 million).
■ Politics
Pro-Taiwan campaign starts
A pro-independence group yesterday pledged to sweep away what they called four hurdles to Taiwan's normalization as a nation and the passage of a new "Taiwan Republic's constitution." "We will get rid of four main issues and organizations that betray the country's sovereignty, that are against Taiwan's name rectification, that block the passage of the Taiwan Republic's constitution, go against Taiwan's name rectification and steal the assets of the people," Peter Wang (王獻極), convener of the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign, said at a press conference. The campaign, founded last year to push for a "Taiwan Nation" and a new constitution, pledged to scrap the National Unification Council and change the name of the China Airlines to Taiwan Airlines. It also wants the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to return its stolen assets to the people.
■ Society
Civil Code to be amended
The Ministry of Justice will draft a new chapter to be added to the Civil Code to regulate increasingly popular online transactions over the Internet, Minister of Justice Morley Shih (施茂林) said. "With credit card use and online trading becoming ever more popular, our Civil Code must be updated to cover those transactions," Shih said. He said a special chapter expounding the rights and obligations of sellers and buyers in Internet transactions will be added to the Civil Code, setting out the role and responsibilities of online trading companies or operators of online transaction platforms. He said the new chapter will prescribe transaction rules and dispute settlement mechanisms for traders and consumers to follow.
■ Health
Mushrooms given the OK
A Department of Health official said yesterday that Taiwan-produced mushrooms of Brazilian origin are safe to eat. Hsiao Tung-ming (蕭東明), acting director of the Bureau of Food Sanitation, made the remarks after Japan warned that tests on rats show that the Brazilian mushrooms processed by Kirin Well-Foods of Japan are likely to cause cancer. The Japanese government has ordered a recall. Hsiao said that no Taiwanese company has imported the mushrooms, but the public can buy them online or in Japan. He said that Brazilian mushrooms grown locally have been proven safe.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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