■ Temblor detection
The Central Weather Bureau has improved its earthquake detection system and officials said yesterday that by the end of next year they would be able to detect a magnitude-4 or stronger earthquake and issue a notification within 35 seconds. The nation suffered its deadliest earthquake in five decades on Sept. 21, 1999, when it was hit by a magnitude-7.3 temblor, leaving 2,415 people dead and more than 10,000 injured and causing serious damage to property and infrastructure nationwide. At that time, it took the bureau's Seismology Center 102 seconds to fully grasp the magnitude of the earthquake and issue a notification, the officials said.
■ SOCIETY
Stray dog rescued
Animal rights activists in Kaohsiung City saved a stray dog whose head was trapped in a plastic container for the past month, cable news network TVBS reported. The network said an elderly woman reported the distressed animal earlier this month. She said the animal had avoided anyone trying to come near it. It was not immediately known how the dog got its head trapped in the container and how it managed to consume food and water. There have been increasing reports of animal cruelty, in which some dogs were found to have clusters of rubber bands cutting into their necks or had been partially skinned. Stray-care associations and animal rights activists urged the government to punish those who mistreat animals.
■ POLITICS
Chou, Lee row continues
A dispute between Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) continued yesterday, with Chou challenging Lee to debate the matter in public, only to have his challenge rebuffed by the minister. Lee said there was no point arguing with Chou in public, as the promotion and appointment of police officers lies squarely within the authority of the National Police Administration. As county commissioner, he said, Chou simply does not have the right to make promotions or appointments, irrespective of the fact that Taipei County was upgraded to a quasi-special municipality on Oct. 1. Chou, who tried to promote 140 middle-ranking police officers in his county only to have his promotions declared null and void by the ministry, argued that his power to control police appointments and promotions should be the same as that of his counterparts in the special municipalities of Taipei and Kaohsiung.
■ POLITICS
Councilors cross floor
The Tainan City People First Party's (PFP) council caucus will be consigned to history today as all three PFP councilors will return to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). PFP Tainan City councilors Lee Chin-chuan (李錦泉), Wang Chia-chen (王家貞) and Lin Mei-yan (林美燕) will formally announce their return to the KMT today. The PFP caucus discussed the return of its members to the KMT and decided to support KMT nominees for both legislative and presidential elections during a meeting last month. Although the PFP has asked the three councilors to delay their return to the KMT, Lee said they were left with no other choice, but stressed that they would still serve PFP supporters in their constituency. KMT membership will be officially restored to the three councilors late next month, Lee said.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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