■ Defense
Flotilla on show in Keelung
A Navy friendship flotilla arrived at Keelung Harbor yesterday, allowing the public to board any of its three vessels for visits today. The flotilla includes one supply ship, one Chengkung-class frigate and one Kangting-class frigate. It is scheduled to travel around Taiwan and visit other countries between February and May each year. Military marching bands and martial arts performances by the nation's Marines welcomed the flotilla to Keelung. The Navy said the three vessels will be open to the public from 9am to 4pm today.
■ Politics
Input sought on redivision
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has published a draft plan for redistricting electoral constituencies ahead of next year's legislative elections and is inviting the public's response to the proposal. As only 73 members of the next Legislative Yuan will be directly elected from cities and counties, the CEC has set a rule for redrawing constituencies. Under the rule, a city or county with less than 366,106 residents will be given only one seat in the legislature. Ten cities and counties will therefore elect only one legislator in December next year. Other cities and counties are required to divide themselves into new constituencies roughly containing the national population average of 366,106, and to send their proposals to the CEC by the end of March. Seats in the seventh legislature have been reduced from 225 to 113 and changed into a "single-constituency, two-vote" format -- that is, one vote for candidates, and the other for political parties.
■ Media
Official denies paper's claim
A senior national security official denied a newspaper report yesterday that he and his wife have bought a residence valued at NT$180 million (US$5.6 million) in one of Taipei's upscale areas. Chiou I-ren (邱義仁), secretary-general of the National Security Council, said in a news release that the report on page 3 of the Chinese-language China Times under a banner headline was "exaggerated, untrue and incorrect." He demanded that the newspaper publish a similarly conspicuous correction on the same page. Chiou said his wife bought a residence measuring about 50 ping (165m2) last year for NT$30 million, with the mortgage set at NT$20 million, and that all the information can be verified. He said the newspaper report inflated the value of the property to NT$180 million and the total area to 300 ping. Chiou added that the report has damaged his reputation and that of his family, and that he is waiting for the paper to publish a correction before deciding whether to take further action.
■ Politics
Hsieh's accusers criticized
A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers close to former Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday lashed out at DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), who accused Hsieh of helping big businesses make huge profits by selling state-owned real estate. DPP legislators Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), Kao Chien-chih (高建智) and Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) held a press conference yesterday to defend Hsieh. They urged Lin, a member of DPP's New Tide faction, not to provoke conflict between DPP factions with this issue. The press conference was attended by members of the DPP's Welfare State Alliance, who back Hsieh to run in the 2008 presidential election. The New Tide supports Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
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