■ POLITICS
Hsieh proposes write-off
Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said on Thursday that, if elected, he would consider writing off unpaid national health insurance premiums owed by low-income families. Quoting data compiled by the Bureau of National Health Insurance, Hsieh's campaign aides said about 11,000 low-income households owe a total of NT$220 million (US$6.8 million) in health insurance premiums. Another 6,000 people owe the government a total of NT$270 million in unpaid loans for health insurance premium payment. Hsieh's proposal would cost the government NT$490 million.
■ POLITICS
University plans debate
The College of Social Sciences at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) hopes to hold a debate this month between the country's two leading presidential candidates. NCKU faculty members said that Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) counterpart Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had tentatively agreed to the debate, although the date of the forum has not been finalized. The faculty members said the university has a tradition of not inviting political candidates to speak at its campus in the three-month period prior to an election. As a result, they predicted that the date of the debate will be no later than Dec. 22.
■ POLITICS
Chen honors Weng
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) awarded the Chung Cheng Medal to former Judicial Yuan president Weng Yueh-sheng (翁岳生) yesterday in recognition of Weng's contribution to judicial reform. The presentation of one of the country's top honors was made at the Presidential Office, with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Judicial Yuan President Lai In-jaw (賴英照) and Presidential Office Secretary-General Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) in attendance. The 75-year-old Weng, who was Chen's mentor when the president was studying law at National Taiwan University, devoted more than 35 years of his life to improving the country's judicial system. He promoted reform of court organization, the litigation system and judicial personnel recruitment. Weng retired on Oct. 2 as the head of the nation's top judicial body. He was succeeded by Lai.
■ EDUCATION
Science Olympiad opens
The Fourth International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) opens in Taipei tomorrow. The 10-day IJSO, which is being held for the first time in Taiwan, seeks to encourage students with an interest in science to compete in international competitions. In this way, it is hoped that some students will take up careers in science, a National Taiwan Normal University official said. Organized by the university and the Ministry of Education, the IJSO will bring together 220 students from 40 countries, including the UK, Germany, Russia, South Korea, Singapore and the Netherlands. The IJSO -- which is a competition for students aged 16 years and under -- consists of a theoretical test, a multiple choice test and an experimental examination, the official said. Contestants will have to draw on their knowledge and skills in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and earth science, the official said.
■ RESEARCH
Gambling research begins
The National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taipei City has inaugurated the country's first lottery and gambling research center, gathering experts from different academic fields to contribute to the research, a spokesman said yesterday. William Eadington, a professor of economics and director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gambling at the University of Nevada, delivered a speech on casino operation at the opening ceremony of the center. Ko Hsiu-chuan, an official of the National Treasury Agency, said the center would benefit Taiwan's gambling business, which is still in the early stages of development. Liu Day-yang (劉代洋), director-general of the research center, said it would integrate industry resources to promote the gambling business and hold international meetings and seminars.
■ AID
Rice reaches Nicaragua
Taiwan has donated 300 tonnes of rice to Nicaragua as part of a promised 5,300 tonnes to people who have suffered from recent natural disasters, the Spanish-language news agency EFE reported on Thursday. The report said Taiwan's Ambassador to Nicaragua Wu Chin-mu (吳進木) handed over the rice to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega at a ceremony in Managua on Wednesday. Nicaragua's Caribbean coast was hammered by Hurricane Felix in early September after flooding caused by heavy rain in August, killing about 300 people and leaving thousands homeless.
■ TOURISM
Tourists can drive in Japan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has received around 3,000 applications in the last two months from citizens intending to drive during trips to Japan, an official said yesterday. The applications came after Taiwan and Japan mutually recognized the validity of driver licenses issued by both governments from Sept. 21 this year, said Tsai Ming-yao (蔡明耀), deputy secretary-general of the ministry's Committee on Japanese Affairs. Tsai reminded the public that people in Japan drive on the left and that climate conditions are different.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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