■ DIPLOMACY
China-Africa summit
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it was closely monitoring the progress of a summit between China and west African states to be held in Beijing next month. Two of Taiwan's four African allies have been invited to the summit from March 25 to March 28, but neither Burkina Faso nor Gambia has decided whether to attend, said Liu Bang-zyh (劉邦治), deputy director of the ministry's Department of African Affairs. The meeting next month will be the first summit between Beijing and the 15-member Economic Community of West African States. Liu said although the conference would focus on economic affairs, Taiwan would neither encourage nor deter its allies from sending non-political officials but will keep a close eye on the event. Burkina Faso Ambassador to Taiwan Jacques Sawadogo and Gambian Ambassador Mawdor Juwara were not available for comment at press time.
■ TECHNOLOGY
S Africa, Taiwan cooperate
Technology diplomacy entered a new phase on Monday after the National Applied Research Laboratories' (NARL) National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) inked an agreement with South Africa's Center of High-Performance Computing (CHPC) to share resources in high-performance computing, technology research and development and talent. The signing ceremony was held at NARL headquarters in Taipei, with NARL president Joe Juang (莊哲男) and Liaison Office of the Republic of South Africa Representative Petrus Meyer in attendance. NCHC director Eugene Yeh (葉俊雄) and CHPC director Happy Sithole said the project's top priority would be to develop a virtual environment in which a concrete model for the construction of a high-performance computing network in South Africa can be simulated. Sithole said he was interested in learning about the NCHC operational model in Taiwan to build a similar computing network in South Africa.
■ China trade
Chen backs Hsieh's plan
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday voiced his support for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) proposal to grant amnesty to Taiwanese businesspeople who had defied a government ban on investing in China. "It is an old measure that was implemented in 1993, 1997 and 2002," he said. "It is not a brand new policy and has nothing to do with the election. We don't need to wait after the election to do what we can do today." As long as China-based Taiwanese businesspeople are willing to return home to invest, Chen said the government could be more lenient and more flexible in setting new regulations.
■ fisheries
Conservation plan launched
Owners of fishing boats in Kaohsiung will receive subsidies to encourage them not to fish as part of a new plan to conserve fisheries, the city government's Marine Bureau announced yesterday. With fuel prices rising and fishery resources declining because of overfishing and the effects of a cold spell on the marine ecology, it might not make sense for fishing boats to remain fully operational throughout the year, the bureau said. Owners of licensed fishing boats may apply to the local fishermen's association between May 1 and Oct. 31 to receive NT$8,000 per sampan, NT$10,000 per fishing raft and up to NT$100,000 per fishing boat, depending on the vessel's tonnage.
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
The Chinese wife of a Taiwanese, surnamed Liu (劉), who openly advocated for China’s use of force against Taiwan, would be forcibly deported according to the law if she has not left Taiwan by Friday, National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials said yesterday. Liu, an influencer better known by her online channel name Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣), obtained permanent residency via marriage to a Taiwanese. She has been reported for allegedly repeatedly espousing pro-unification comments on her YouTube and TikTok channels, including comments supporting China’s unification with Taiwan by force and the Chinese government’s stance that “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.” Liu
FATE UNKNOWN: The owner of the dog could face a fine of up to NT$150,000 and the animal could be euthanized if he cannot show that he can effectively supervise it A pit bull terrier has been confiscated by authorities after it yesterday morning bit a motorcyclist in Taipei, following footage of the same dog in a similar attack going viral online earlier this month. When the owner, surnamed Hsu (徐), stopped at a red light on Daan District’s (大安) Wolong Street at 8am, the dog, named “Lucky,” allegedly rolled down the automatic window of the pickup truck they were riding in, leapt out of the rear passenger window and attacked a motorcyclist behind them, Taipei’s Daan District Police Precinct said. The dog clamped down on the man’s leg and only let go
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