EDUCATION
Ministry denies smoking ban
Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) yesterday denied that his ministry had instructed that smokers be barred from serving as school principals. Fielding questions at the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee, Wu said the Ministry of Education had no regulation prohibiting smokers from serving as school principals or superintendents. “Smoking is a personal choice. The ministry has not instructed that smokers be barred from serving as school principals or that principals should quit smoking,” Wu said, adding it is acceptable for teachers to smoke, as long as they do not smoke on school grounds. He made the remarks in response to questions by lawmakers about a media report on the matter.
SOCIETY
Former POW event planned
The Taiwan Prisoners of War (POW) Camps Memorial Society, in cooperation with the Canadian Trade Office (CTOC) in Taipei, is holding its annual Remembrance Weekend Event from Friday to Sunday, with 14 overseas guests, including one former POW, returning to Taiwan to attend the event. The event is held to highlight the story of the former allied POWs who were held captive on Taiwan by the Japanese during World War II and forced to work as slaves, and to ensure that what they suffered will never be forgotten. There will be a dedication of the new Taihoku Camp No. 6 POW Memorial on Friday afternoon in Dazhi (大直), the annual POW Banquet, to be held at the Imperial Hotel on Saturday evening, the dedication of new memorials in POW Park and a Remembrance Day Service on Sunday. Reservations for both the banquet and bus to Jinguashi (金瓜石) on Sunday can be made by calling Tina Wu at the CTOT on (02) 8723-3461.
CHARITY
NT$1.62m donated to Thais
Flood-stricken Thailand has received relief funds of more than NT$1.62 million (US$53,800) from Taiwanese and Thai nationals living in Taiwan, a statement released by the Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei said yesterday. In the statement, the office also expressed its gratitude to the government for offering assistance and an initial donation of US$100,000 a month ago, when the country was hit by its worst floods in 50 years. Half of Thailand’s population has been affected by the floods, which have had a significant impact on the agricultural, industrial and service sectors, the office said. It added that flood victims were still in need of relief items, such as small boats, tents, food supplies, rain boots and drinking water.
CRIME
Feng shui master deported
A Chinese fortuneteller and feng shui master was sent back to China yesterday after he was denied entry to Taiwan on Sunday evening because he worked illegally during his last visit. Li Jianjun (李建軍) was banned from entering the country for three years in May, after Taipei’s Labor Department discovered he had appeared on several TV shows without the appropriate permit, the National Immigration Agency’s Border Affairs Corps said. Immigration authorities added that despite being in possession of the correct paperwork this time round, he was still barred. His schedule showed that he took a flight from Taiwan at 6:25pm to Shenzhen, from which he was to fly to the US. Lee, who is married to a former TV hostess from Taiwan, felt his treatment was unfair. He said he was puzzled at the decision because he had been invited by a book publisher to attend symposiums and book launches.
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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