Taiwan hospital saves African boys suffering from severe burns

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) A local hospital's medical team has saved two African boys suffering from severe burns in an emergency medical relief mission coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the ministry and hospital said Friday.

The two unrelated 7-year-old boys, from Taiwan's western African diplomatic ally Sao Tome and Principe, arrived in Taiwan on April 11 for emergency treatment due to the lack of medical support in the country and its neighbors, said Foreign Affairs Minister Timothy C.T. Yang.

The boys' initial prognosis was not optimistic, said Tsui Kang, spokesman of Wan Fang Hospital. They had both suffered second-to-third degree burns, with one boy, named Fernando, having burns covering 40 percent of his body surface area (BSA) and the other, Aurelio, having a 9 percent BSA.

Fernando underwent two skin-grafting operations, including one that lasted 10 hours, while Aurelio had one operation. Both are now recovering well, Tsui said.

Fernando, who sustained burns when a pot of hot oil and water fell on him after he bumped into his mother in their kitchen, could barely stretch out his arm when he arrived in Taiwan, but his range of motion increased from just 20 degrees to 160 degrees after several skin grafts, Tsui said.

Aurelio sustained burns to the backs of his knees after spilling and igniting an oil container, leaving him unable to bend his knees, Tsui said. He can now stretch his legs straight and also jump on one foot, according to the spokesman.

"When the accident happened I told myself 'this is it' and my son's chances of recovering were slim. I'd never imagine that we would be here in Taiwan with the medical team and the first-class treatment, " Shela comis Lopes, Fernando's mother, told CNA through an interpreter.

The boys are scheduled to fly back to Sao Tome and Principe May 17 with their families.

A third child who was also suffering from severe wounds was scheduled to be brought to Taiwan for treatment as part of the group but died prior to the trip, said Yang, who initiated the mission after learning of the accidents from a friend.

The mission showed that Taiwan had extended its goodwill and friendship to its allies through concrete actions rather than lip service, said Sao Tome and Principe Ambassador to Taiwan Jorge Amado.

"Today's event is the most valuable testimony of 13 years of bilateral friendship between Sao Tome and Principe and Taiwan," Amado said.

The mission was only one part of Taiwan's continuous effort to take advantage of its medical expertise and provide medical relief to countries around the world, Yang said.

Taiwan has used different formats and services in various countries in practicing medical diplomacy, Yang added, noting that Taiwan has overseas-based medical teams as well as touring medical teams to provide medical care for special diseases.

It also helps other countries train medical staff, he said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls

Executions affect Taiwan's international image: EU envoy

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) The European Union (EU) has asked Taiwan to restore a de facto moratorium on the death penalty, saying that the resumption of executions will affect Taiwan's image, the EU's top envoy to Taiwan said Friday.

"Taiwan is viewed by Europe as a place of democracy and respect for human rights. Of course, resumption of the death penalty and executions will affect this perception of Taiwan's high standards of human rights, " said Guy Ledoux, head of the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO).

Taiwan drew outcry from human rights groups both at home and abroad after its execution of four death row inmates April 30, the first time since 2005 the death penalty had been carried out in the country, which has cited the abolition of capital punishment as a long-term goal.

The envoy said he met with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng Thursday and urged Taiwan to resume the de facto moratorium. His visit to Wang came days after statements issued by Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the European Parliament's subcommittee on human rights, expressing regret and condemnation of the executions.

Ledoux declined to speculate on the possible effects of the executions on EU plans to extend visa-free privileges to Taiwanese visitors to the Schengen Area, which currently consists of 25 European countries, but he noted that the proposal, which Taiwan had hoped to be granted by the EU by the end of this year, "must be discussed by the ministers of the member states as well as by the European Parliament. And for this proposal to be adopted, the European Parliament needs to vote in favor of it." The government insists that the executions were carried out according to Taiwanese law and has also pointed out that in most public opinion polls, over 70 percent of the respondents have been against abolition.

Responding to the envoy's comment, Foreign Minister Timothy C.T. Yang said Friday that while the abolition of the death penalty is an eventual goal, it will take a long time for Taiwan to forge a consensus on such a sensitive issue. He added that his ministry will do its best to explain this to EU member states.

Yang said there are no signs at the moment that the visa-free privileges will be negatively affected as a result of Taiwan's executions and he expressed hope that they will be separate issues, as Taiwan and the EU have always enjoyed "multi-layered" relations that include a wide range of cooperation and exchanges.

Ledoux said that he had made two requests to the Executive Yuan to meet with Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu, who replaced Wang Ching-feng after Wang refused to sign any execution orders and resigned over the snowballing controversy.

"Unfortunately, our call has not been heard, " he said. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

Dacin, Yulon to clash in Taiwan pro basketball finals

Taipei, May 6 (CNA) Defending champions the Dacin Tigers will meet Yulon Luxgen Friday in game one of a best-of-seven Super Basketball League (SBL) finals to determine Taiwan's best professional basketball team.

Both teams fought off fierce opposition to clinch their berths in the finals after a grueling five-game first-round playoff series in which Dacin edged out Taiwan Beer 57-55 and Yulon held off Pure Youth 76-69 in decisive games Wednesday.

Led by local star Tien Lei and American import Byron Allen, Dacin came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat Taiwan Beer and will try to become the third repeat champion of the SBL, Taiwan's top basketball league. Yulon won the title 2003-2006, while Taiwan Beer hoisted the championship trophies 2007-2008.

Yulon, the only team that does not hire imported players, will ride on the shoulders of star center Tseng Wen-ting and hopes to win its first title in four years.

Dacin and Yulon were tied at 19 wins and 11 losses in the 30-game regular season. Yulon, which is making its fifth appearance in the finals, routed Dacin 3-0 in the 2005 finals, the last post-season meeting of the two teams.

Dacin beat Taiwan Beer 4-3 in the best-of-seven finals last year to win its first SBL champion. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

Taiwan Internet merchants warned against Nigerian scams

Taipei, May 6 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) warned Internet merchants Thursday against the increasing number of Nigerian scams.

There were four cases of Nigerian fraud filed with the ministry in April alone, and 11 in the past year, most of which involved false Internet purchase orders from Nigeria, said Chen Shih -liang, director-general of MOFA's Department of African Affairs, in a press briefing.

The ministry was able to cooperate with the Nigerian postal services and recovered most of the products shipped to the African country, he added.

There are many forms of Nigerian frauds, most of which originated in the early 1990's and have come to be known as "419" scams, a reference to the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud.

The most common form of the scam is the email scam, in which recipients are asked to provide their personal information and bank account numbers for an opportunity to share a percentage of millions of dollars, according to the U.S. Federal Investigation Bureau.

In Taiwan, Chen said, the fraudsters often take advantage of Taiwan's highly developed information technology environment and make false orders on auction websites. They also make false trades, impersonate government officials or princes and gain illegal benefits from false marriages, he said.

Chen advised Taiwanese businesses and Internet merchants to carefully verify the authenticity of documents before shipping any products. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

African, Taiwan students to play friendly soccer games

Taipei, May 6 (CNA) Students from six African countries will meet Taiwanese counterparts in friendly soccer games in Taipei on May 15 to highlight the May 25 "Africa Day" and the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday.

The friendly meet is one of a series of events the ministry is organizing to celebrate "Africa Week, " which has added importance this year because it is the 50th anniversary of independence for many African countries, said Chen Shih-liang, director of MOFA's Department of African Affairs.

Scheduled for May 15 at National Taiwan University, the friendlies will open with a match between MOFA officials and a team consisting of officials from various African embassies and representative offices in Taiwan. Later teams of students from Burkina Faso, Gambia, Swaziland and Sao Tome and Principe -- Taiwan's four diplomatic allies in Africa -- and a mixed team of South African and Nigerian students will play local university teams, Chen said.

South Africa has offered a 90-day "event visa" for those holding tickets to the 2010 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in South Africa from June 11 to July 11, so fans traveling there will be able to enjoy expedited customs clearance service, Chen said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc

Documentary shows Taiwan's role in WWII

Taipei, May 6 (CNA) A documentary compiled from thousands of hours of original footage from the World War II era that is to be shown in Taiwan is designed to show viewers the brutal war as a part of Taiwan's history and as it really happened, a political commentator said Thursday.

Taiwan, as a part of Japanese territory at the time, was a part of WWII and this should not be forgotten, said Cheng Hung-yi, a reporter-turned-TV commentator, in a press conference to announce the release of "WWII Lost Films, " a History Channel production.

The 10-part high definition film, which uses first-person narrative and diaries from the time to tell the stories of 12 Americans who experienced the war in Europe and the Pacific first-hand, will be shown on Taiwan's digital television channel May 10-14.

"History should be a mix of everything that has happened -- the good and the bad, " said Cheng, who recounted a story of his uncle, who served as a Japanese soldier in the Pacific War, in his review of the documentary.

"My uncle told me that Japanese soldiers were told to never surrender to the Americans because they were expected to be treated with no mercy and even be killed. Eventually he was captured and found out that the Americans provided the prisoners of war -- who had been starving prior to their capture -- with beef and milk, " he said.

The story shows how real history can be distorted and why people, and especially the media, should view and record history objectively, he added.

Taiwan's role in WWII remains a sensitive and controversial issue in local textbooks because political issues were involved, Cheng noted. However, he went on, the experiences of Taiwanese who served in the Japanese Imperial Army and fought against China in the Sino-Japanese War should be documented without prejudice because they were all real-life experiences and part of life for that generation.

The rare footage, some of which has not seen since the 1940s, draws upon more than 3,000 hours of film from archives and private collections across the globe, said Rosanne Lu, marketing director of AETN All Asia Network, which represents the History Channel in Asia. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

Philippines likely to benefit from ECFA: envoy

Taipei, May 4 (CNA) The Philippines is likely to benefit from a proposed trade agreement between Taiwan and China, in terms of direct investment and outsourcing, the Philippines de facto representative to Taiwan was quoted as saying in a newspaper report last weekend.

The Philippines will continue to receive more than its fair share of investments and job orders from Taiwan and rising wages in China could prompt Taiwanese investors in China, especially those in the low- to medium tech and labor-intensive industries, to consider relocating their businesses to the Philippines, said Antonio Basilio, managing director and resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei.

Basilio said that some China-based Taiwanese footwear and bicycle manufacturers are looking at the Philippines as a likely location for their offshore operations in light of the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China, according to the report in the Philippines Daily Inquirer's Sunday edition.

Meanwhile, he added, Taiwanese companies would likely outsource their processing to countries like the Philippines in their efforts to transform into branded manufacturers.

The ECFA, which the Taiwan government hopes to sign by mid-year, is aimed mainly at lowering or eliminating most tariffs on products traded across the Taiwan Strait.

In an interview with the Central News Agency in March, Basilio also expressed concerns over the possible adverse effects of the ECFA on the Philippines.

"Actually we've already begun feeling (the effects) even before the start of the negotiations," he said at the time. "We foresee that when most of the restrictions on investments from the mainland are lifted, it may result in some Taiwanese plants closing and moving (to China). That means less employment of our workers in Taiwan." At the same time, the agreement could present opportunities for the Philippines, which would be able to expand the concept of an "economic corridor" to include China, he added.

But other reports from the Philippines have hinted that Taiwan's closest neighbor to the south could suffer as result of stronger cross-Taiwan Strait ties in the areas of trade, investment and tourism.

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Augusto B. Santos said at a Cabinet meeting that the Philippines could lose foreign direct investments from Taiwan as a result of the ECFA, Philippines' GMA News television reported on April 21.

Santos said in the report that Filipino workers in Taiwan may lose their jobs if more Taiwanese factories move to mainland China. He also noted that the Philippines recorded a 14.7 percent drop in tourist arrivals from Taiwan in 2009 as more Taiwanese tourists were choosing to travel to China.

According to Santos, Taiwan is the 7th most popular destination for Filipinos looking to work overseas. In 2008, there were 38,546 new hires and rehires in Taiwan. There are about 94,055 Filipinos living and working in Taiwan. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc

AIT welcomes President Ma's comments in CNN interview

Taipei, May 4 (CNA) The United States reacted favorably to President Ma Ying-jeou's recent interview on CNN, while Chinese scholars saw a controversial remark he made as signaling his determination to pursue better ties with China.

"The United States welcomes the recent reduction of tensions in the Taiwan Strait that President Ma referred to in his interview, " said Chris Kavanaugh, spokesman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) , which represents the U.S. in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

"We believe continued cross-Strait dialogue furthers regional peace, stability and prosperity. We hope these efforts continue," he said.

Kavanaugh gave the e-mail statement in response to a question on how the U.S. interpreted Ma's most controversial comment -- that "we will never ask the American[s] to fight for Taiwan" -- in the interview with CNN host Chritiane Amanpour, broadcast April 30.

"United States policy toward Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act and the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques. There has been no change to our 'One China' policy, " Kavanaugh said.

According to its 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. has the obligation to help defend Taiwan and to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons.

Meanwhile, Beijing-based English-language newspaper China Daily quoted Chinese experts as saying that Ma's pledge that Taiwan will never ask the U.S. to help fight a war with the mainland demonstrates his determination to push for better ties across the Taiwan Strait.

Ma was the first Taiwanese "leader" who dared to say "never" to U.S. help, China Daily quoted Chen Xiancai, a researcher at the Taiwan Studies Center at Xiamen University, as saying.

Li Jiaquan, a senior researcher with the Institute of Taiwan Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said while the pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) always attempted to drag America into a war to help its push for Taiwan independence, Ma is trying to rule out such a possibility, the newspaper reported.

President Ma has received strong support from within his party for his comments, with Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng saying Monday that Taiwan's government has actively sought arms sales from the U.S., reflecting its strong determination to defend itself.

"Only when we are capable of defending ourselves can we be treated equally and fairly at the negotiating table with China, " Wang said.

Taichung Mayor Jason Hu, who served as foreign minister before the DPP took power in 2000, also defended the president's remark. Hu said that Ma's comment underlined Taiwan's dignity and determination -- dignity in cross-strait relations and determination to defend itself.

Following protests from the DPP, Government Information Office Minister Johnny Chiang said Monday that Ma's remarks did not preclude Washington from helping Taiwan defend itself, as the United States could decide on its own whether to come to Taiwan's defense.

Hsiao Bi-khim, director of the DPP's International Affairs Department, accused Ma Sunday of undermining national security by eliminating the vagueness Washington has deliberately maintained on how it would respond to a possible Chinese attack against Taiwan.

The pro-independence Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) , a Washington-based grassroots organization representing Taiwanese-Americans, argued that the comment could increase rather than ease cross-Strait tensions.

"A statement as made by Mr. Ma actually invites aggression from China, which has been threatening Taiwan's free and democratic existence for many years," the group said in a statement. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls

Taiwan workers march on Labor Day

Taipei, May 1 (CNA) Thousands of Taiwanese workers urged the government Saturday to ban dispatch hiring and include protection of labor rights in the negotiations on a proposed cross-Taiwan Strait trade pact.

In a Lobor Day rally in front of the Executive Yuan, the workers also called for the government to stop interfering with the unions and to guarantee pensions for the country's entire workforce.

The rally will be only the first wave of a continued effort until working conditions are improved and related laws are revised and amended, said Hsieh Chuang-chih, secretary-general of the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions.

Crowds chanted slogans of "anti-poverty" and "down with Wang Juh-suan, " (minister of the Council of Labor Affairs) " during the three-hour protest, voicing their discontent over what they see as government incompetence that has caused shrinking job opportunities and salaries.

"It is the management, rather than the workers, who have enjoyed the vast majority of the benefits of globalization and trade liberalization, " according to Hsieh.

Private businesses and government agencies have also increased their dispatch hiring over the past few years, making it more difficult for local workers to land permanent jobs.

Premier Wu Den-yih, who was in Taichung and did not address the crowds personally, told reporters that the labor rights problem in Taiwan is a long-standing issue that first occurred during the previous administration, in which temporary jobs and numbers of foreign workers increased dramatically.

Leaders of the rally denounced the Council of Labor Affairs' (CLA's) response to their appeals issued on the eve of the protest, as "irrelevant." The CLA stated that a flexible mechanism of hiring has been a global trend since the 1990s and that termination of such hiring would jeopardize a large number of jobs. According to the CLA, there were approximately 516,000 temporary workers in Taiwan as of May 2009.

Approximately 1.3 million workers in Taiwan, including 600,000 temporary workers and 700,000 workers with less than 35 working hours per week -- more than 10 percent of Taiwan's workforce -- are working on a temporary basis with no hope of a pension or hope of landing a permanent job, Hsieh said.

According to statistics, the total workforce was 10.63 million as of March, while unemployment reached 5.67 percent, down from the historic high of 6.13 percent last August.

"We oppose the planned legalization of temporary hiring in the Labor Standards Act. We also express our regret and anger over the government's favoring of management and large corporations over the workers, " said Lo Tsai-feng, a representative of Young Fast Optoelectronics Trade Union.

In addition to unions from private businesses, their counterparts from government agencies such as Taipei City's Department of Environmental Protection and Parking Management and Development Office, also participated in the rally because most of their jobs have also been outsourced. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

Rights groups condemn Taiwan's executions

Taipei, May 1 (CNA) Human rights groups on Saturday condemned the killing of four inmates on death row by Taiwan's government, saying that the country's first executions since December 2005 put Taiwan's human rights record at risk.

Amnesty International condemned Taiwanese authorities while the Taiwanese Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) expressed its "shock and anger" upon learning that four prisoners were put to death Friday evening after Ministry of Justice Tseng Yung-fu signed warrants for the executions.

Chang Chun-hung, Hung Chen-yao, Ko Shih-ming and Chang Wen-wei were executed in Taipei, Tainan and Taichung just five weeks after former Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng resigned amid a political storm sparked by her statement that she would not sign death warrants during her term.

The prisoners were put to death "according to the law as the four were convicted of grave offenses such as murder-kidnapping and multiple murders," the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

The four were executed after 7 p.m., Deputy Justice Minister Wu Chen-hwan told the media in a press conference Friday night, adding that the executed inmates did not request Constitutional interpretations of their cases.

"These executions cast a dark shadow on the country's human rights record and blatantly contradict the Justice Minister's previously declared intention to abolish the death penalty, " Catherine Baber, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy Director, said in a press release.

"The world was looking to the Taiwanese authorities to choose human rights, and to show leadership on the path towards abolishing the death penalty in the Asia-Pacific. Today's executions extinguished that hope," she added.

The executions were carried out "furtively and hastily" without prior notice to families of the inmates, said Lin Hsin-yi, executive director of the TAEDP.

The TAEDP has raised concerns over the legality of the executions. The Judicial Yuan accepted a request for an interpretation of the Constitution submitted by the TAEDP on behalf of Taiwan's 44 death row inmates on April 26, and granted a deadline of May 3 for documents from the four prisoners who were executed, Lin said.

Starting in the previous administration under the now-opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan's government has voiced a long-term goal of abolishing the death penalty. The current administration of President Ma Ying-jeou incorporated a pair of United Nations covenants -- the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights -- into domestic law last year.

Taiwan reserves the death penalty for serious crimes including aggravated murder, kidnapping and robbery.

According to most public opinion polls, over 70 percent of Taiwan people are in favor of the death penalty. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc