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.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday held a ceremony marking the delivery of its 11th Anping-class offshore patrol vessel Lanyu (蘭嶼艦), saying it would boost Taiwan’s ability to respond to Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chang Chung-Lung (張忠龍) presided over the CGA event in the Port of Kaoshiung. Representatives of the National Security Council also attended the event. Designed for long-range and protracted patrol operations at sea, the Lanyu is a 65.4m-long and 14.8m-wide ship with a top speed of 44 knots (81.5kph) and a cruising range of 2,000 nautical miles (3704km). The vessel is equipped with a
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
Two siblings in their 70s were injured yesterday when they opened a parcel and it exploded, police in Yilan said, adding the brother and sister were both in stable condition. The two siblings, surnamed Hung (洪), had received the parcel two days earlier but did not open it until yesterday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan, police said. Chen Chin-cheng (陳金城), head of the Yilan County Government Police Bureau, said the package bore no postmark or names and was labeled only with the siblings’ address. Citing the findings of a
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