■DIPLOMACY
OCAC not being closed: Ma
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission (OCAC) will not be abolished, but merged with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Ma said that some people did not understand the government’s restructuring plan and thought that the commission was being closed. However, Ma said the commission would be merged with MOFA, which will become the ministry of foreign and overseas compatriot affairs. There will be a deputy minister in charge of overseas compatriot affairs, he said. Ma said one of the advantages is that the commission would receive more funding. The annual budget of the MOFA is about NT$25 billion (US$740 million), while that of the commission is about NT$1.3 billion, he said. The foreign ministry has 121 embassies and representative offices established in 87 countries. The commission has only 16 cultural and educational centers.
■AVIATION
Charter flights to double: CAA
The number of cross-strait charter flights is likely to double because airlines on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will not be able to accommodate the number of passengers scheduled to travel during the major national holidays in the next two months, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday. A number of national holidays occur next month and in May. Tomb-sweeping day falls on April 4, International Labor Day on May 1 and the Dragon Boat Festival on May 28. CAA Deputy Director-General Lin Shinn-der (林信得) said that on average, the occupancy rate of charter flights from Taiwan has topped 92 percent, whereas that on charter flights from China has reached approximately 70 percent. Judging by the customary rules for international flights, the situation meets the criteria for an increase in the number of flights, he said.
■ENVIRONMENT
EPA fights noise pollution
To encourage people to keep the noise down in public areas where quiet is called for, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday unveiled a “Quiet Sign,” that can be posted in hospitals, restaurants or hotel lobbies. The sign, which shows an index finger placed in front of a pair of lips under the roof of a house, was designed by Hsu Hui-ching (徐惠菁) and was selected by the EPA from a total of 245 entries, officials said. Though no penalties would be imposed upon people who continue to speak loudly or allow their mobile phones to blast out music in places that display the sign, the EPA hoped that the sign would help cultivate a more mature and civilized society where the rights of others are considered in public areas, officials said. To download the label, log onto ivy1.epa.gov.tw/noise/.
■EDUCATION
Internships to be offered
The Ministry of Education yesterday announced it would offer 35,000 paid internships to college students who graduated between the 2006 and the last academic year. Department of Technological and Vocational Education Director Chen Ming-yin (陳明印) told reporters that the ministry would persuade corporations to create 35,000 one-year internships for graduates and that the ministry would cover the students’ monthly salaries. Chen said students who enter the program would enjoy a monthly salary of NT$26,190, labor and health insurance included. The program is included in the government’s special budget request of NT$500 billion for the next four years, Chen said.
■CRIME
Taiwanese chemists busted
Four Taiwanese chemists were arrested in a raid on a drug factory that netted US$17 million worth of the popular new tranquilizer Erimin-5, Malaysian police said yesterday. “This is the first time that we have had such a big seizure of the Erimin drug,” anti-narcotics chief Zulhasnan Najib Baharudin said after the swoop on the illicit factory in southern Johor state. “We arrested five people in the drug lab raid and our investigations show four of them were from Taiwan and were the main chemists involved in manufacturing the drugs,” he said. Five Malaysians were also arrested during the subsequent investigation into the drug factory, he said. Zulhasnan said the lab could produce more than 20,000 pills per hour. “We believe this raid has ended a major drug distribution and manufacturing group in the country,” he said.
■SOCIETY
Animal agency upgraded
The Taipei City Government yesterday announced it would upgrade the Institute for Animal Health to the Animal Protection Administration as part of efforts to place more emphasis on animal rescue and adoption in the city. Created in 1968, the agency’s principal mission is the prevention of contagious diseases in animals. The upgrade of the agency is aimed at addressing growing concerns on animal abuse, rescue and adoption, the city government said. Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the agency would integrate all animal management-related matters and focus more efforts in protecting animal rights. The stray-dog arrest team of the Taipei City’s Environmental Protection Department, for example, will be placed under the agency and be turned into an animal rescue team to build a friendlier environment for animals in Taipei City, Hau said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS