LAW
Chen feels ill at hearing
The Taiwan High Court yesterday set a new court date of March 23 after an in camera hearing on perjury charges against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was stopped when the former president complained of feeling ill. Chen, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year prison term for corruption, was accused of asking former Presidential Office director Lin Teh-hsun (林德訓) to provide false testimony in July 2006 in a corruption case. Chen was sentenced to two months in jail in the first trial. Chen’s lawyer Shih Yi-lin (石宜琳) said that the first half of yesterday’s trial was not open to the public because much of the discussion involved state secrets.
DIPLOMACY
German Institute relocates
The German Institute Taipei will be closed to visitors from Thursday through March 6 as the office is scheduled to relocate to new premises on the 33rd floor of Taipei 101, the world’s second-tallest occupied building, the institute said yesterday. Appointments for visa, passport and citizens’ services, which must be booked through the institute’s official Web site, will be available again from March 7, the German representative office said in a statement. The new address of the German Institute Taipei is: 33F, No. 7, Xinyi Rd, Sec 5, Taipei, 11049. The institute’s new telephone number is: 02-8722-2800.
FOOD
Houbi rice delivered
An initial order of 80 tonnes of Houbi rice ordered by a Tokyo-based trading company was shipped to Japan from Tainan yesterday. The rice was supplied by Lienfa Mill in Houbi (後壁) Township, Greater Tainan, for Kanematsu Co, which placed an order for 500 tonnes of Houbi rice. Rice produced in Houbi is held in high esteem by the Japanese, Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) said. He added that Japan has some of the most stringent requirements in the world regarding the quality of rice and food safety standards. “Japan’s recognition of Houbi rice shows that its quality is on a par with the best rice in the world,” Lai said. He added that the deal demonstrated there were still markets for local agricultural produce other than China. For example, mangoes and rice from Greater Tainan have made impressive inroads into the Japanese market. Lai said that he hoped other agricultural produce would follow suit and seek out other overseas markets. He also said that central and local governments should work more closely together to develop markets and increase market share for local agricultural produce in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and other countries.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
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