■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.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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