■ AGRICULTURE
Egg prices to stabilize: COA
The rising prices of chicken and duck eggs are expected to stabilize and production levels to revert to normal once the weather warms, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said. The price of chicken eggs has increased to NT$29.5 per 600g, or Taiwan catty, the standard unit of measurement in traditional food markets, while the price of duck eggs reached NT$33 per catty, the council said in a statement on Friday. The council attributed the soaring prices to recent cold spells that have dampened egg production and rising international grain prices that have led to skyrocketing feed costs. Huang Ying-hao (黃英豪), chief of COA Animal Industry Development, said that if the temperature remained stable in the coming weeks, egg production should return to normal within a month and egg prices would stabilize.
■ ELECTION
Election Web site launched
The Government Information Office (GIO) has launched a Web site (www.gio.gov.tw/elect2008/) to provide information on the March 22 presidential election. Officials said that instead of relying on the nation's overseas offices to publicize the election, it had established a communication platform for international media by allowing them to register directly via the Internet. The GIO is hoping to learn about the actual needs of the international media and provide them with the best service, the officials said, adding that it welcomed international media to cover the election and witness the development of Taiwan's democratic politics. The Web site provides reference material and information and introduces journalists to services that will be available at the GIO international press center, the officials 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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