■ Accidents
Falling tree injures student
A Taiwanese woman studying in New Zealand was in critical condition in a hospital yesterday after being crushed by a tree blown down during a storm, news reports said. The woman, aged about 21, suffered serious head injuries when a tree fell on her near Waikato University in Hamilton, as winds of up to 150kph lashed the North Island on Wednesday. Parents of the student, whose name was not released, were flying to New Zealand, reports said.
■ Diplomacy
Okinawa office established
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs established a representative office in Naha, Okinawa on Feb. 1, deputy secretary-general of the ministry-affiliated Association of East Asian Relations James Liao (廖經邦) said yesterday. The new office aims to deal with the increasingly frequent trade interactions between Taiwan and Okinawa, said Liao, adding that it had nothing to do with Taiwan's stance on the Diaoyutais (釣魚台), an island chain that Taiwan claims sovereignty over. Okinawa comprises the Ryukyu Islands and Diaoyutais. In the past, Taiwan's representative office in Okinawa existed as a non-governmental organization.
■ Travel
No more stamps
Passengers leaving the country no longer need to have their boarding passes stamped, the National Immigration Agency said. Immigration officers at the country's international airports put a stamp on departing passengers' boarding pass as a part of passenger identification procedures, but the agency now considers this action a waste of time. It said that if each stamp took two seconds, the total time saved by the new measure, applied to an estimated 20,000 passengers each day, would be 11 hours. The agency added that stamping boarding passes was no longer practiced in other nations and contributed little to security.
■ Politics
Majority favor referendum
Nearly 85 percent of Taiwanese believe a referendum should be held whenever Taiwan signs agreements with China related to its sovereignty, a poll released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) showed. The poll showed that 84.8 percent of respondents favored referendums, compared with 9.7 percent who said they were not necessary. Meanwhile, 83.2 percent said only Taiwanese were entitled to define the cross-strait status quo, compared with 1.7 percent who said that Beijing should define it and 6.4 percent who said both sides should have a say. The polls also showed that 69.2 percent thought Taiwan was an independent and sovereign country, compared with 14.6 percent who said Taiwan was part of China. The poll was conducted on March 7 and March 8. A total of 1,034 samples were collected.
■ Litigation
Court rules against MOEA
The Taipei High Administrative Court yesterday withdrew a NT$5 million fine that the Ministry of Economic Affairs imposed on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯) founder Richard Chang (張汝京) in 2005. The ministry alleged that Chang, who it says was then a Taiwanese citizen, invested illegally in China. In addition to fining Chang, the ministry also sought to force him to withdraw his investment within six months. Chang invested in Shanghai-based SMIC in December 2000 without obtaining permission from the ministry, claimg he was a US citizen.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China. Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend. “They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.” Trump’s use of the
RSS