■ AGRICULTURE
Rains cause big losses
Agricultural losses caused by recent heavy rains amounted to NT$87.96 million (US$2.89 million) as of yesterday, the Agriculture and Food Agency said. A total 29 percent of crops on 2,044 hectares of farmland have been destroyed by the rain, with the hardest-hit products listed as watermelon, leafy vegetables and feed corn, the agency said. The hardest hit region has been Pingtung County, which has suffered losses amounting to NT$40.85 million, followed by Miaoli County at NT$14.31 million, Tainan City at NT$13.62 million, Kaohsiung County at NT$7.04 million, Taichung County at NT$3.74 million, Taitung County at NT$3.48 million, Tainan County at NT$3.41 million and Hsinchu County at NT$1.47 million, council tallies showed.
■ SOCIETY
Club to hold rummage sale
After bad weather forced the Taipei American School’s (TAS) Orphanage Club to postpone its annual summer rummage sale last Saturday, the club said it will hold the sale today from 10am to 5pm in the school’s forecourt and lobby — come rain or shine. Club members have collected a huge variety of new and used clothing, shoes, sports equipment, games and toys, furniture, household appliances and other items. The money raised will provide funding for orphans and other children in need across the nation and abroad. TAS is located at 800 Zhongshan N Rd, Sec 6, in Tianmu (天母).
■ FOREIGN AID
Global perspective touted
Non-governmental organizations yesterday stressed the need for more professionals with global perspectives and the integration of resources to strengthen Taiwan’s foreign assistance capacity. “To enhance Taiwan’s ability to provide international assistance, a platform should be established to integrate the resources of non-governmental organizations,” said Feng Hsiao-yuan (馮曉原), deputy chief of the Taipei Overseas Peace Service, at a workshop on promoting assistance to refugees to mark yesterday’s World Refugee Day. Feng, whose organization is dedicated to providing aid around the world, especially in Asia and Africa, said that in addition to meeting refugees’ basic needs, foreign aid groups should also help them plan their futures and preserve their culture and dignity. He suggested that human rights education be included as part of any aid efforts. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of refugees around the world has increased for two consecutive years after a five-year decline, reaching 37.4 million to date.
■ BUSINESS
Parental leave debated
Leaders of the industrial and commercial sectors urged the government yesterday to include complementary provisions in its plan to offer allowances to employees on parental leave, in order to minimize the impact on businesses. Chang Pen-tsao (張平沼), chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce, said companies “dare not” oppose the plan to offer 60 percent of a person’s salary for up to two years for parental leave. But Chang said the policy will lead to discrimination against hiring women if it is implemented without further measures. Meanwhile, Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄), chairman of Taipei-based Chinese National Federation of Industries, said businesses would like to be more clear on the changes first. Chen said he did not think firms could afford the policy.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
Taiwan’s Li Yu-hsiang performs in the men’s singles figure skating short program at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. Li finished 24th with a score of 72.41 to advance to Saturday’s free skate portion of the event. He is the first Taiwanese to qualify for the free skate of men’s singles figure skating at the Olympics since David Liu in 1992.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday held a ceremony marking the delivery of its 11th Anping-class offshore patrol vessel Lanyu (蘭嶼艦), saying it would boost Taiwan’s ability to respond to Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chang Chung-Lung (張忠龍) presided over the CGA event in the Port of Kaoshiung. Representatives of the National Security Council also attended the event. Designed for long-range and protracted patrol operations at sea, the Lanyu is a 65.4m-long and 14.8m-wide ship with a top speed of 44 knots (81.5kph) and a cruising range of 2,000 nautical miles (3704km). The vessel is equipped with a
Two siblings in their 70s were injured yesterday when they opened a parcel and it exploded, police in Yilan said, adding the brother and sister were both in stable condition. The two siblings, surnamed Hung (洪), had received the parcel two days earlier but did not open it until yesterday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan, police said. Chen Chin-cheng (陳金城), head of the Yilan County Government Police Bureau, said the package bore no postmark or names and was labeled only with the siblings’ address. Citing the findings of a
RSS