■ POLITICS
Airport plan criticized
The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposal to turn Taoyuan International Airport into an “airport city” was criticized by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday, who said it would infringe on Taiwan’s sovereignty. “To me, the act seems to be about making Taiwan a part of China,” DPP Legislator Chang Hwa-kuan (張花冠) told a press conference yesterday morning. “That is why we decided to hold further discussions when the legislature reviewed the proposal a few days ago.” Chang said the articles in the proposal that irked the DPP were the ones that would allow Chinese migrant labor, provide Chinese visitors with visas upon arrival and allow foreign physicians to practice at the airport. DPP Legislator Twu Shiing-jer (�?�) said that it would be difficult to maintain the quality of medical treatment if foreign physicians are allowed to work at the airport. “I think all local physicians will oppose the idea,” Twu said.
■ EDUCATION
Betel-nut teens worrying
The Ministry of Education will try to learn why junior high school students are chewing betel nuts, Vice Minister of Education Chou Tsan-der (周燦德) told lawmakers yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) asked Chou about the number of junior-high students who chew betel nuts. Yang cited a Bureau of Health Promotion survey that said 7.5 percent of junior high students said they usually chewed betel nuts, while 2.5 percent of female junior high students said they had chewed betel nut before. The number of student users rose in southern Taiwan, Yang said, to 11.2 percent. “The incidence is too high,” Chou said, adding that the ministry would ask schools to increase their public awareness campaigns on the health risks associated with chewing betel nuts.
■ DIPLOMACY
Navy visits Nicaragua
A naval contingent of 742 officers and sailors began a goodwill visit to Nicaragua on Wednesday as part of their tour of Latin America. Three navy ships arrived late on Tuesday in the western Nicaraguan port of Puerto Corinto, where they were met by Army chief General Omar Halleslevens, Mayor Ernesto Mendez and Ambassador Wu Chin-Mu (吳進木). Nicaraguan army spokesman General Adolfo Zepeda said the Taiwanese ships were visiting several countries in Central America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific to help build closer relationships with countries in those areas.
■ SOCIETY
Angler hit by lightning
A man fishing on a rock near a sea wall on Green Island suffered serious burns to his abdomen, groin and thighs when he was struck by lightening on Wednesday. Firemen rushed the 57-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), to the Taitung branch of Mackay Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for second-degree burns to 20 percent of his body. Fishing experts said Chen’s carbon fiber fishing rod, which was touching his stomach, served as a conductor for the lightening bolt. Doctors said that although Chen was lucky to be alive, it was not clear yet whether his sexual functions were impaired.
■ SOCIETY
Ma aide to join charity
Steve Chan (詹啟賢), who served as campaign manager for president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), said yesterday that he will not be part of Ma’s administration and will instead join the Buddhist Tzu Chi Compassionate Relief Foundation after May 20.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
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