Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Breaking: Tibet continues to burn, second immolation in 48 hours

Phuntsok Yangchen

Charred body of Dhondup

DHARAMSHALA, October 22: In less than 48 hours of the self immolation of Lhamo Kyab on Saturday in Sangchu county, another Tibetan man from the same county has set himself on fire earlier today in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Sonam, a monk of Drepung Monastery in South India, said Dhondup, 61, of Hor Khagya (spelled as pronounced) set himself ablaze at 9:47 am (local time) on the main road near Labrang Monastery in Sangchu County, Eastern Tibet. He became the oldest Tibetan from Tibet to end his life due to self-immolation.

Economists pessimistic on prospects for economy

Taipei Times

Panel members at a forum listen yesterday to National Taiwan University economics professor Kenneth Lin.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times

Government efforts launched last month to stimulate the economy lack any clear results and GDP might still contract or grow at a rate of less than 1 percent, economists said yesterday.

National Taiwan University economics professor Kenneth Lin (林向愷) said he did not believe President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) could make good on his promise to make economic progress within the month — which would be up on Wednesday — despite a rise in exports last month and a lowering of the unemployment rate.

Annette Lu offers to give up pension bonus

Taipei Times

Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said she was giving up her year-end bonus in a move to uphold fairness and justice in the light of recent controversy about year-end pension bonuses to retired government employees and government fiscal difficulties.

Lu said in a press release that she would give up the one-and-a-half-month bonus to facilitate reforms on benefits for civil servants, military personnel and teachers.

Scientist warns of dangers of Taiwan nuclear mishap

Taipei Times

A Japanese nuclear scientist and researcher says that if a nuclear accident occurred at one of northern Taiwan’s nuclear power plants, about 30,000 people would die within a short period of time and up to 7 million people could develop cancer from exposure to the nuclear radiation.

Hiroaki Koide, a nuclear reactor specialist who has been an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute since 1974, spoke yesterday at a civic nuclear-free forum and met environmental protection groups in Taipei over the weekend.

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