■ POLITICS
Let Hsieh decide, Chen says
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) is the person best qualified to choose his running mate, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday. Amid speculation that Chen favored former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as a running mate for Hsieh, Chen declined to comment on a Hsieh-Su ticket. While Hsieh has said he would let the matter be decided by opinion polls, Chen said that he disagreed, as he believed Hsieh would make the best decision himself. Chen made the remarks during an inspection trip to Taichung City.
■ ENERGY
Wind-power cable planned
State-run Taiwan Power Co on Monday announced a plan to construct a 60km undersea electric cable linking Taiwan and offshore Penghu County as part of the company's efforts to secure supplies of wind-powered electricity between the two. The NT$14.68 billion (US$445 million) plan is undergoing an environmental impact assessment, a company spokesman said. The project would be completed in November 2012 if the assessment is finished by the end of this year, he said. Once the cable is in place, wind-powered electricity could be produced on a massive scale on Penghu, the spokesman said. The undersea electric cable would serve as a backup system, but one which the spokesman said had to be put in place in advance. Without a backup system, the island's power system would be compromised if the wind becomes unstable, leading to the possibility of a comprehensive shutdown, the spokesman added.
Globally, the Penghu area is one of the most suitable places for generating wind power, the spokesman said.
■ POLITICS
Schriver seeks latest facts
Former US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Randall Schriver arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a five-day visit at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Department of North American Affairs. Schriver hopes to obtain the latest information on the nation's political and electoral situation and will hold a press conference with local media tomorrow, MOFA spokesman David Wang (王建業) said. Schriver will visit the Democratic Progressive Party, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the Environmental Protection Administration and other government departments. Christopher Griffin, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is accompanying Schriver.
■ CULTURE
Festival cancelation possible
An announcement by Ilan County Commissioner Lu Kuo-hua (呂國華) yesterday that the county's annual Children's Folklore and Folk Game festival would not be held next year drew fire from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chin-de (陳金德), who demanded that he consult with local travel companies and county councilors. Lu said that the decision had been made out of cost considerations, but that the county government would immediately begin working on a replacement summer activity. Chen, a legislator from Ilan, released a statement yesterday saying that the festival had a 12-year history and the decision to cancel it should not be taken so lightly. He said that he had not ruled out initiating a recall motion should Lu not reconsider his decision.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV