■POLITICS
Officials to meet Tibetan
Officials from Taiwan’s representative office in Japan are expected to meet a Tibetan-Taiwanese activist today who was arrested by Japanese authorities on Saturday for trying to grab the Olympic torch during the Japan leg of the relay in Nagano, said Peter Tsai (蔡明耀), deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Committee of Japanese Affairs. Tsai said that Japanese authorities had asked the court to detain Tashi Tsering, the 38-year-old vice chairman of the Taiwan chapter of the Tibetan Youth Congress, for 10 more days on top of his initial 48-hour holding period, during which Tsering was kept incommunicado. “The government is doing all it can to have him repatriated and has requested the Japanese authorities to ensure his rights are respected during his incarceration,” Tsai said.
■POLITICS
Lien to attend Olympics
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) has agreed to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August at the invitation of Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong (郭金龍), the Central News Agency said. The invitation was issued during a sculpture unveiling ceremony in Beijing’s Olympic park yesterday, the agency said, adding that Lien and his wife had accepted the invitation. The sculpture was a gift from Lien to Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
■HEALTH
Man detained over coconuts
Taipei County law enforcement and consumer rights authorities yesterday tracked down a businessman suspected of illegally disposing of 21 tonnes of coconuts imported from Thailand that were found to contain residues of a banned pesticide. The businessman, Mo Yu-huei (莫酋惠), was taken to the Criminal Investigation Bureau early yesterday to be questioned. A local cable TV news station reported that Mo refused to say who bought the tainted coconuts but said his company had sold the goods to street vendors. Authorities yesterday inspected hypermarkets around the county, including RT-Mart, Carrefour and Wellcome, but none were found to be selling the suspect coconuts. The Department of Health reported on Monday that tests on samples from a shipment of some 30,000 Rungtawan coconuts showed they contained 0.18ppm of the fungicide Carbendazim.
■POLITICS
No China meet planned
Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) chairman-designate Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) denied yesterday he was planning to meet the head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) on May 25. Chiang, who returned from a four-day visit to China on Monday afternoon, said in a written statement yesterday that he had no plans to visit China again next month, as the government’s power transfer and reshuffle of the SEF would be his priority during the period. “I never planned to visit China on May 25 and I certainly will not take the occasion to meet Chen,” Chiang said. Chiang issued the statement in response to a report in the Chinese-language United Daily News, which claimed that Chiang had cancelled his meeting with Chen on Monday afternoon after receiving a telephone call from China. The story blamed the cancellation of Chiang’s China visit on president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) appointment of former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Lai Shin-yuan (賴辛媛) as the chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council.
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The New Taipei City Government today warned about the often-overlooked dangers of playing in water, and recommended safe swimming destinations to cool off from the summer heat. The following locations in the city as safe and fun for those looking to enjoy the water: Chienshuiwan (淺水灣), Baishawan (白沙灣), Jhongjiao Bay (中角灣), Fulong Beach Resort (福隆海水浴場) and Sansia District’s (三峽) Dabao River (大豹溪), New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department Director-General Yang Tsung-min (楊宗珉) said. Outdoor bodies of water have variables outside of human control, such as changing currents, differing elevations and environmental hazards, all of which can lead to accidents, Yang said. Sudden
Tropical Storm Podul has formed over waters north-northeast of Guam and is expected to approach the seas southeast of Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The 11th Pacific storm of the year developed at 2am over waters about 2,660km east of Oluanpi (歐鑾鼻), Pingtung County — Taiwan's southernmost tip. It is projected to move westward and could have its most significant impact on Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday next week, the CWA said. The agency did not rule out the possibility of issuing a sea warning at that time. According to the CWA's latest update, Podul is drifting west-northwest
RSS