UN RESOLUTION 2758
Canada backs Taiwan
The Canadian House of Commons on Wednesday unanimously passed a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not establish the People’s Republic China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and does not determine the nation’s right to participate in the UN or other international organizations. The motion was proposed by Bloc Quebecois President Yves Perron, who said it was unanimously agreed upon by all parties before the meeting was convened. Parliament members would speak up with allies around the world to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization, Perron said. China is manipulating the implications of the resolution to legitimize its military actions in Taiwan’s territorial airspace and waters, he said.
LABOR
MOL seeks to raise fines
Upcoming amendments would seek to increase maximum fines for creating an unsafe work environment from NT$300,000 to NT$1.5 million (US$9,305 to US$46,526) in hopes of preventing occupational accidents, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said yesterday. The draft amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法) seeks to prevent construction accidents by strengthening contractors’ safety management, raising the maximum penalty and disclosing more information about businesses that breach safety standards, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Director-General Tzou Tzu-lien (鄒子廉) said. It would also require property owners to implement risk evaluation and prepare a budget for safety measures, he added. Subcontracting is common in the construction industry, yet most contractors do not perform their duty to ensure occupational safety, Tzou said. Renting venues and equipment without disclosing risks could lead to occupational accidents, he added.
DIPLOMACY
Poland, Fiji envoys named
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健) is to be the new representative to Poland, while former ambassador to Nauru Joseph Chow (周進發) is to serve as the envoy to Fiji for the second time. Liu, who has served as the ministry’s spokesman since January last year, would take up his post following envoy Sharon Wu’s (吳尚年) return to Taipei in August, a Cabinet announcement released on Wednesday said. Liu’s previous overseas posts include India, New York, Washington and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Chow worked at the ministry’s Taipei headquarters after diplomatic ties with Nauru were severed. His previous overseas posts include Nauru and Australia.
WEATHER
Heavy rain expected
The northern and eastern parts of Taiwan are expected to experience heavy rain until tomorrow as Typhoon Yinxing approaches, the Central Weather Administration said on Wednesday. As Yinxing was predicted to veer further west and to be closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon to this evening, heavy rain is expected along the Keelung north coast and eastern Taiwan, with isolated instances of extremely heavy rain in Yilan, agency forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) said. Seasonal winds are likely to weaken today, but rain is to persist, bringing down temperatures in the north and northeast until it rebounds to about 27°C tomorrow. The next wave of northeasterly winds is to pick up on Sunday and is expected to bring rain across Taiwan until Wednesday next week, Chang said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
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