■ EVENTS
Shuttle buses to run today
The Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday that it will offer shuttle buses to and from Pingtung County's Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣) for National Day fireworks. After an administrative meeting yesterday morning, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said that buses would leave every 30 minutes from Kaohsiung Train Station between 1pm and 3:30pm. The buses will return from Dapeng Bay every 30 minutes between 8:30pm and 10:30pm, Chen said. The measure, Chen said, was intended to encourage residents to take public transportation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Kaohsiung Bus Service Administration Director Tseng An-li (曾安麗) said the bus ride would cost NT$30 to cover insurance.
■ POLITICS
Shih to give speech today
Shih Ming-teh (施明德), leader of a campaign to pressure President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) into resigning, will walk to the National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Office this morning and make a speech, the campaign said yesterday. Campaign spokesman Jerry Fan (范可欽) said Shih -- a former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party -- would be the group's sole representative at the ceremony. Shih will leave for the celebrations from the campaign's office on Chinan Road at 9:40am, and walk to the event wearing a red shirt, Fan said.
■ DIPLOMACY
Chen thanks Swaziland
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) expressed gratitude to Swaziland, one of the government's African allies, for speaking up for Taiwan's application to join the UN at the world body's general assembly. Chen made the remarks while meeting on Monday with Swazi House of Assembly Speaker Prince Guduza Dlamini, who is visiting with a delegation to attend Double Ten National Day celebrations. Chen also thanked Guduza for his country's efforts to incorporate Taiwan into international projects. Chen said a medical cooperation protocol signed with Swaziland when King Mswati III visited Taiwan for the Taiwan-Africa leadership summit last month would see Taiwan send a medical team at the beginning of next year to provide medical aid in Swaziland on a long-term basis. A protocol on cooperation between the countries over the next 10 years will soon go into effect and ensure continued good relations, Chen said.
■ HEALTH
Officials tackle dengue
The Kaohsiung County Government has sent health officials and quarantine experts to Tainan City to help halt an expanding outbreak of dengue fever ahead of the Oct. 20 opening of the 2007 National Athletic Games, a county official said yesterday. Kaohsiung County Bureau of Health Director Huang Chih-chung (黃志中), made the announcement in a report to the county government. Huang said that the number of indigenous dengue fever cases in Tainan City had reached 477 since the beginning of the year, while Kaohsiung City has recorded 64 cases and Tainan County 32. Given that the dengue fever virus will remain infectious through the end of this month, Huang suggested that athletes participating in the games in Tainan City take precautions against contracting the illness. The National Athletic Games will determine which athletes compete in the Olympic Games in Beijing next year.
■ CRIME
Travelers caught with crabs
Customs officers have seized Chinese hairy crabs weighing a total of 274kg from inbound travelers since Sept. 8, the Taipei Customs Office said yesterday. It said in a press release that the sought-after crabs could pose a health threat. If travelers attempt to sneak them into the country, they will invariably be detected by customs officers or X-ray machines, it said, adding that officials were finding and destroying large numbers of hairy crabs every day. Taiwan adopted stricter inspection criteria to deal with Chinese hairy crabs this year after imported crabs last year were found to contain traces of the banned antibiotic nitrofuran, a cancer-causing agent. China recently accused Taiwan of adopting excessively stringent criteria, and said that unless the two nations could reach an agreement on inspection, Taiwanese would not be able to enjoy Chinese crabs this year. Local crab importers have
yet to apply for an import license this year, the Department of Health said.
■ SOCIETY
Taipei to host design meet
Taipei has won its bid to host the 2011 World Design Congress, defeating the other finalist, Melbourne, Ministry of Economic Affairs officials said yesterday. Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) was scheduled to call a news conference last night to officially announce the news, the officials said. Taipei filed its application with the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) in January and competed with 19 other cities from 13 countries for the right to host the event. After several rounds of voting, Taipei and Melbourne were shortlisted as finalists.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
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