■ POLITICS
Former officials impeached
The Control Yuan yesterday impeached former secretary-general of the Executive Yuan Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), former chief of the Hsinchu Science Park James Lee (李界木) and former minister of the National Science Council Wei Che-ho (魏哲和) over a land procurement deal allegedly involving former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). They were charged with breach of duty when they completed a deal whereby the government-run Hsinchu Science Park purchased land in Longtan Science Park, Taoyuan County, from Dayu, a subsidiary of Taiwan Cement Group. Prosecutors in December indicted the former first family for allegedly receiving NT$300 million (US$9.1 million) in kickbacks from a total payoff of NT$400 million made by Leslie Koo (辜成允) related to the deal. The case is currently being tried.
■ TOURISM
Bureau launches promotion
The Tourism Bureau yesterday launched the Southern Taiwan Summer Tour Passport, which aims to integrate the efforts of local governments and various stakeholders in the tourism industry, such as restaurants and hotels, to promote tourism in southern Taiwan. The summer tour promotion, co-organized by the city and county governments of Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Penghu, will offer discounts of up to 50 percent at hundreds of hotels and restaurants from July 13 to Sept. 30 and includes add-ons such as NT$10 hotel upgrade packages. A total of 80,000 Southern Taiwan Summer Tour Passports are now available free of charge at highway rest stops, train stations, Taiwan High Speed Rail stations and Taipei MRT service centers.
■ TRADE
Fair to focus on France
Next year’s Taipei International Book Exhibition, one of the highest-profile book fairs in Asia, is to focus on French literature and publishing as its main theme, the organizer announced yesterday. Paulina Lin (林文琪), executive director of the Taipei Book Fair Foundation, said there is much to learn from publishing policies and traditions in France, such as the fact that the French government has adopted protection measures for small publishing companies so that the public has access to non-mainstream authors. The 18th annual exhibitionwill be held between Jan. 27 and Feb. 1 at the World Trade Center.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
China is attempting to subsume Taiwanese culture under Chinese culture by promulgating legislation on preserving documents on ties between the Minnan region and Taiwan, a Taiwanese academic said yesterday. China on Tuesday enforced the Fujian Province Minnan and Taiwan Document Protection Act to counter Taiwanese cultural independence with historical evidence that would root out misleading claims, Chinese-language media outlet Straits Today reported yesterday. The act is “China’s first ad hoc local regulations in the cultural field that involve Taiwan and is a concrete step toward implementing the integrated development demonstration zone,” Fujian Provincial Archives deputy director Ma Jun-fan (馬俊凡) said. The documents
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