■ FOOD
Beef noodle cook-off returns
The 2007 Taipei International Beef Noodle Festival was launched yesterday and will run through Nov. 4. The festival has made Taipei the world capital of beef noodles, promoted business opportunities and enriched the imagery of Taipei, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday at the opening ceremony. The festival is once again sponsoring an online vote for the best beef noodle shop in the city, but this year it has also invited competitors from England, the US, South Africa and Russia to join the cookout. Taxi drivers will also be asked to recommend their favorite shops, which may not be well-known by the public.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
■ FOOD
Canadian firms in link-up
Taiwanese and Canadian biotechnology firms exchanged data on "functional food and nutraceuticals" and looked for potential partners in the rapidly growing sector in a videoconference yesterday. Almost 80 representatives from local firms attended the conference, which was organized by the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei. Seven Canadian firms made presentations in the videoconference to seek local partners. Canada enjoys a leading position in the "functional food and nutraceuticals" industry, which has more than 300 companies and a domestic market of C$6.6 billion (US$6.24 billion) annually, said Hugh Moeser, the trade office's deputy director. With an estimated annual market of NT$25.6 billion and an increasing interest in nutrition, Taiwan has great potential for Canadian companies, Wu Chao-hsiung (吳昭雄), managing director of Sentosa Co, said in a presentation.
■ FOOD
DOH monitors Thai coriander
Taipei will request Thai authorities to provide safety certification for its coriander exports to Taiwan after six batches of the imported herb were found to contain traces of a banned pesticide, a Department of Health (DOH) official said yesterday. Bureau of Food Safety Director-General Cheng Huei-wen (鄭慧文) said the 2,408kg of coriander was found to contain 0.37 parts per million of alpha-cypermethrin, a banned pesticide. All six batches were imported after July 1. The DOH has asked the Thai government to improve the situation, Cheng said, adding that from next week, all imported coriander from Thailand will be checked.
■ POLITICS
KMT calls for flip-flops
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called on supporters yesterday to wear traditional blue-and-white flip-flops to its rally on Saturday in Taichung City as a symbol of the difficult lives of blue-collar workers. The rally aims to promote the party's proposed referendum to return to the UN and other international organizations and give the working class a voice, commissioner of the KMT's communication and culture committee Yang Tu (楊渡) told a press conference yesterday. "The blue-and-white flip-flops symbolize the spirit of the people's perseverance despite the difficulties in their lives," Yang said. The party hopes to attract 50,000 to 100,000 people at the rally, which will start at 4pm at 823 Park and be followed by a party scheduled to last until 9pm.
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
Traffic controls are to be in place in Taipei starting tonight, police said, as rallies supporting recall efforts targeting the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as well as a rally organized by the KMT opposing the recall campaigns are to take place tomorrow. Traffic controls are to be in place on City Hall Road starting from 10pm tonight and on Jinan Road Section 1 starting from 8am tomorrow, police said. Recall campaign groups in Taipei and New Taipei advocating for the recall of KMT legislators, along with the Safeguard Taiwan, Anti-Communist Alliance (反共護台聯盟), have previously announced plans for motorcycle parades and public
A tropical depression near the northwestern Philippines is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Danas by early tomorrow, becoming the fourth tropical storm of the season, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 8am today, the system was located approximately 370 kilometers southwest of Taiwan's southern tip, Cape Eluanbi, and has developed a more organized structure, forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The storm is currently moving slowly toward the Taiwan Strait in an east-northeast direction and may trigger a sea warning if it reaches tropical storm strength tomorrow morning. The system is expected to shift direction later tomorrow toward the north
‘ON THE RIGHT TRACK’: US analysts praised the ‘less scripted’ drills as strengthening defenses and resilience, as confusion and spontaneity are common in actual warfare This month’s annual Han Kuang military exercises are to feature six types of “gray zone” tactics used by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with the aim of weakening their effectiveness, Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) told the military yesterday. The 41st Han Kuang drills, scheduled from Wednesday next week through July 18, would simulate a Chinese blockade and invasion, with President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday saying that Taiwan is already in a “war without gun smoke.” In a speech broadcast to officers and soldiers yesterday, Mei said that the six types of harassment are: legal warfare,
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