■ Politics
Yu touts independence
During an event in Taipei County yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday that the party would help Taiwan become a "normal" country within the next decade. Yu told party members in Taipei County that the DPP had been unable to achieve its goals for the nation was because it does not control the majority in the legislature. He said that a new constitution was a priority, as was joining the UN under the name "Taiwan." He added that the nation also needed to enhance its ability to defend itself. "This goal can be achieved within the next 10 years," he said. "As to how this can be done, I will elaborate in the future. But this [goal] can be achieved. Unlike the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT], which has never advocated Taiwanese independence, the DPP has a sacred mission: We will help Taiwan become a normal country," he said.
■ Labor Rights
Workers' rights enforced
Foreign domestic helpers are entitled to a reasonable amount of time off and personal space, and employers who violate these rights will be fined, Taipei's top official in charge of labor affairs said yesterday. Su Ying-kuei (蘇盈貴), director of the Taipei City Government's Department of Labor, said that from next month, all of the 914 Taipei families who employ foreign helpers will be required to provide a single room exclusively for the domestic helper's use and to allow the helper to sleep for at least eight consecutive hours, as demanded by Philippine authorities in charge of overseas employment. Violators will be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000, and repeat violators could have their permits to hire foreign helpers revoked, Su said.
■ Society
Chao resigns: report
President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) son-in-law Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘) tendered his resignation from National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital last week, the Central News Agency reported yesterday. Hospital spokesman Lin He-hsiung (林鶴雄) confirmed yesterday afternoon that Chao's resignation had been approved by the hospital and will take effect tomorrow. The hospital's Clinical Ethics Committee voted down Chao's request to return to his position in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery last October. Chao was sentenced to six years in jail by the Taipei District court in December. The Presidential Office said yesterday that first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) did not lobby NTU Hospital to let her son-in-law return to work. "The report is totally unfounded," the statement said.
■ Diplomacy
Countries approve change
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman David Wang (王建業) said that five countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the nation have agreed to add the name "Taiwan" under Taiwan's official national title "Republic of China" on the signs in Taiwan's overseas representative offices. Papua New Guinea is one of the five, he said. Wang said that the ministry has been pushing a name change policy for the nation's overseas representative offices and embassies for several years. He said change was being made to avoid Taiwan being mistaken for China. It has nothing to with changing the cross-strait "status quo," Wang said.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
RSS