■ DISASTERS
Prevention office opens
The Disaster Prevention and Rescue Office under the Executive Yuan was inaugurated yesterday to better integrate resources during catastrophes. Calling the inauguration a “milestone” in the nation’s history of disaster prevention, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the office would be able to carry out disaster prevention and rescue efforts more effectively as the office is composed of 50 officials from different government branches. The office was established after southern and eastern parts of the nation were devastated by days of torrential rain brought by Typhoon Morakot in August. The government was heavily criticized for failing to effectively integrate resources from different government agencies to conduct disaster relief work.
■ AVIATION
Heavy fog delays 16 flights
Sixteen flights heading to countries in Southeast Asia were delayed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday morning because of thick fog, the Taoyuan Aviation Office said yesterday. The Central Weather Bureau issued a fog alert yesterday morning to residents of Kinmen, Matsu and the west coast of Taiwan proper. The fog caused visibility at the airport to drop to 800m. The Taoyuan Aviation Office regulated the departure of flights between 9:04am and 11:15am. The airport canceled the restrictions after the fog lifted. The bureau forecast that fog could still appear in Kinmen, Matsu and on the west coast today.
■ ENVIRONMENT
DNA to help nab poachers
Taiwan intends to use DNA from whales and dolphins as evidence to convict poachers and protect the endangered marine animals, an official said yesterday. The tactic is meant to outwit poachers who try to cover their tracks after catching whales and dolphins by cutting off the animals’ heads, tails and fins, said Hsia Jung-sheng (夏榮生), an official from the Council of Agriculture. “What they don’t know is that the government has set up a comprehensive databank of DNA from whales and dolphins,” she said. “Using molecular biotechnology, experts can easily pin down the species of whales or dolphins even if the sample is just a scrap of meat.” Coast Guard officials last week discovered a haul of dolphin meat weighing more than 1.3 tonnes in the northeastern fishing port of Suao (蘇澳). All species of whales and dolphins are protected by conservation laws and any person found violating the law faces a prison term of up to five years and a fine of up to NT$1.5 million (US$47,000).
■ SOCIETY
IELTS offers extra goodies
Registered candidates for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam will have extra benefits this year, the British Council Taipei said, as it has developed 30 hours of new examination preparation materials available free online for test candidates. Alison Markwick, director of the council’s English Language Services, said the self-study preparation materials, titled Road to IELTS Online and written by the British Council, were now available as a free, added-value IELTS service. The course complements other forms of IELTS training and takes the test candidate through all four parts of the exam — reading, listening, speaking and writing — she said. The material gives explanations on question types, provides tips on how to handle the tasks and provides online scoring of exercises so that candidates can assess their level and progress.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe