Taiwan and China will step up cooperation in anti-drug efforts, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
In a meeting with members of the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), Ma said drug enforcement efforts will never end, and cooperation between Taiwan and China on the issue has been enhanced as part of cross-strait collaboration on crime prevention.
“With the improvement of cross-strait relations, the two sides have had some success in combating crime, including the exchange of information on illegal narcotics. We believe that such cooperation will make anti-drug efforts more efficient,” Ma said at the Presidential Office.
The ministry and the CGA seized about 80kg of heroin, worth nearly NT$2 billion (US$66.8 million), from a Taiwanese fishing boat in August last year, after the vessel was intercepted in the Bashi Channel and brought to Kaohsiung in the biggest trafficking case in a decade.
The president applauded the ministry and the CGA for their work and promised that the government will dedicate more effort to the fight against drugs.
“Anti-drug efforts and drug enforcement require endless effort. We need to block the supply chain of drugs through tough drug enforcement measures and promote anti-drug campaigns to reduce the consumption of drugs,” he said.
As part of the government’s pledge to combat drugs, the Executive Yuan has cracked down on the sale and use of ketamine, especially around campuses.
Premier Sean Chen also instructed the Ministry of Education to conduct urine tests on students with convictions for drug use.
Ma said the campaign will target drug dealers and those who transport ketamine with heavy punishments, and stressed that the government will focus on the fight against ketamine in seeking to eliminate use of the drug.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taiwan is bracing for a political shake-up as a majority of directly elected lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) face the prospect of early removal from office in an unprecedented wave of recall votes slated for July 26 and Aug. 23. The outcome of the public votes targeting 26 KMT lawmakers in the next two months — and potentially five more at later dates — could upend the power structure in the legislature, where the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) currently hold a combined majority. After denying direct involvement in the recall campaigns for months, the
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