■TRADE
Paraguay beef to double
Taiwan has agreed to double beef import quotas from Paraguay from 880 tonnes to 1,776 tonnes annually, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a news release yesterday. The ministry said Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添), currently on a three-nation visit of Panama, Saint Lucia and Paraguay, formally announced the quota increases after meeting with Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo. The ministry said the quota was increased on the basis of longstanding friendly relations between Taiwan and Paraguay and the Council of Agriculture’s positive assessment of Paraguay’s beef processing industry.
■FOOD
Massive mooncake unveiled
A kumquat “snow skin” mooncake, touted as the largest mooncake ever made in the country, was unveiled in Yilan County yesterday. A 30-person team led by Chen Yun-ju (陳韻如), an assistant professor at the Lan Yang Institute of Technology, worked for 24 hours to complete the cake on Friday, according to the Jiaosi Township (礁溪) Office, which organized the challenge. The giant mooncake, weighing 360kg and measuring 330cm in diameter, can be shared by 1,500 people. The mooncake’s filling alone weighs almost 240kg, consisting of 48kg of kumquats, 180kg of white bean paste and 9.6kg of unsalted butter, Chen said. The dough, described as “snow skin” because it is not baked, required 78kg of regular and glutinous rice flour, 100 bottles of fresh milk, 50 bars of butter, condensed milk, brandy and powdered sugar. Chen said the combination of the snowy crust and kumquats made the cake healthy and high in fiber, in contrast with traditional mooncakes, which are usually greasy and high in calories.
■ENTERTAINMENT
Lin Yu-chun debuts album
Singing sensation Lin Yu-chun (林育群) released his debut album on Friday, taking another step in what he called his magical journey into the music world. Besides belting out classics of international divas such as Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, Lin was able to express himself on the album with Under Your Wings, written for him exclusively by Grammy Award-winning producer Walter Afanasieff. Lin dedicated the version on the album to his grandmother, whom he said he has been very close to since he was a child. He promised the new album would show his passion for music to the world and was grateful for the support fellow Taiwanese have shown him to date. “I’d like to thank all the friends who have watched me on YouTube,” Lin said.
■MILITARY
Chopper flyover longest yet
The Army Aviation and Special Forces Command held an unprecedented drill earlier this month in which a fleet of military helicopters flew from the Taiwanese mainland to the outlying Penghu Islands in formation. In a report on the drill on Friday, local media said Army choppers had never flown such a long distance in formation over a body of water as they did when they flew to Penghu, 50km off Taiwan’s southwestern coast. Though the military did not disclose how many helicopters participated in the drill, it praised the special forces last week for “creating a historic first by completing the ‘long-distance formation flight drill over water.’” The report said the flight lasted about 50 minutes, adding that it is much more challenging for helicopters to fly over water than over land for long distances because there is no terrain that can be used as an aviation guide for the aircraft.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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