An independent magistrate-elect said voting was fair, open and impartial. He added that the election was of special significance, because it was held while the nation was facing hardships.
Premier Chiang Ching-kuo urged successful candidates to join in advancing the welfare of society.
"In striving toward this common goal there should be no distinction between those who hold a party membership card and those who do not," Premier Chiang added. He said that a law-abiding spirit should be emphasized in democratic government to safeguard the national interest.
Columnist William Buckley Jr. said he could not recall a chief of state more personally impressive than Premier Chiang Ching-kuo.
In his column in the New York Post, the columnist said Premier Chiang "is a short, modest man, of huge ability ... "
Buckley said Premier Chiang is convinced that the differences in the life of Taiwan and the mainland will inevitably stir the mainland to overthrow its oppressors.
Recalling his meeting with Premier Chiang, Buckley said:
"He wants to know - and it is not easy to answer him: 'What has changed? Why is the United States suddenly obsessed with the notion that it is time to renounce the mutual defense treaty with Taiwan, and go waltzing with the surviving gang in Peiping?"
"Well, you say to him, let us face it, things have changed. The defense treaty was signed in 1954. Who would have dreamed then that, representing Mao Tse-tung, Chou En-lai would be toasting the health of President Richard Nixon in Peiping as he did in 1972? C.C.K. answers: 'In Chungking in 1945, Mao Tse-tung toasted the health of my late father.' "
Science and technology has become the yardstick in measuring a country's strength and the size of population is no longer an important factor, Premier Chiang Ching-kuo said.
Speaking at a ceremony honoring five recipients of the 1977 Science and Technology Award, the Premier described this as "the era of science and technology."
Admitting that the Republic of China was weak in terms of science and technology over a decade ago, Chiang said marked progress has been made.
Premier Chiang urged greater emphasis on research and development in applied science and new energy sources.
"We must be able to acquire the ability to make breakthroughs in the science and technology area," he said.
Premier Chiang hailed the achievements of recipients of the Science and Technology Award.
The fact that there were only five awards this year compared with 13 in 1976 does not mean there are fewer outstanding scientists and technicians. The National Science Council was more strict in its selections.
Winners were picked after four screening processes, Premier Chiang reported. Those failed to make the honor list also have made important contributions, he said.
The five winners of the Science and Technology Award were:
- Dr. Wang Po-jen, 43, of Tainan, Taiwan, research fellow of the Institute of Botany, Academia Sinica. His work was on "The Application of Plant Tissue Culture Techniques in Agriculture."
- Chang En-hsin, 50, of Fukien, engineer of the Tobacco Laboratory, Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau, who was cited for his research on and cultivation of disease-resistant tobacco leaves.
- Dr. Wu Cheng-ching, 41, of Taichung, Taiwan, president of the Taiwan Vinyl Chloride Company at Toufen in Miaoli County. He salvaged a vinyl chloride factory which foreign experts had written off because of designing mistakes. Dr. Wu revised the design and cut production costs. A Japanese company asked NT$160 million (US$4,200,000) to do the redesigning. Dr. Wu's project cost NT$90 million.
- Chen Chin-tsang, 40, of Yunlin, Taiwan, chief of the Ilan Breeding Station, Taiwan Animal Husbandry Laboratory. He was cited for breeding a species of white "tsaiya," a meat duck.
- Chen Fu-fu, 36, of Taipei, engineer of the Telecommunications Laboratory, Ministry of Communications, whose project was an electronic PABX (private automatic branch exchange).
Winners received plaques and NT$100,000 in cash.
Premier Chiang Ching-kuo stepped into the wheelhouse of the 445,000-ton supertanker Burmah Endeavor and congratulated staff members of the China Shipbuilding Corporation, which built the giant tanker.
The Burmah Endeavor had completed her sea trials.
Premier Chiang went aboard the vessel at her Kaohsiung harbor berth.
The Burmah Endeavor was the first ship built at the shipyard of the China Shipbuilding Corporation, one of the Ten Major Construction Projects under way in the Republic of China.
Construction of a sister ship is expected to be delivered in May.
CSBC has ship repair orders that will last for the next several months.
President Yen Chia-kan urged the people to make Taiwan a model province based on the Three Principles of the People so as to win the war against Communism and for mainland recovery.
In a message marking Taiwan Retrocession Day, the President said: "We should remember forever the unremitting endeavors and unselfish sacrifice made by the people of the Republic of China in the wars for the restoration of Taiwan."
The restoration of Taiwan was one of the goals of the national revolutionaries, President Yen said.
While setting up the Hsing Chung Hui, the predecessor of the Kuomintang at Honolulu in 1894, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China, identified the "restoration of Taiwan and consolidation of China" as the revolutionary cause, the President said.
He went on to say:
"After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan on July 7, 1937, the people of the nation, under the leadership of President Chiang Kai-shek, shed their blood and sacrificed their lives to fight the Japanese aggressors for eight years, finally defeated them and recovered all the lost territories, including Taiwan.
"The people on the island, enslaved and oppressed by the Japanese rulers for a half century, had staged more than 100 uprisings against the Japanese. Their heroic deeds amply demonstrated their patriotism and constituted a glorious part of the history of China's National Revolution.
"Since the restoration of the island to the Republic of China in 1945, we have built Taiwan into a democratic, prosperous and harmonious society based on the Three Principles of the People, formulated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen."
All the reconstruction work carried out by the government in Taiwan has been for the interest and welfare of the people and for the recovery of the Chinese mainland, the President said.
"Taiwan has become a bulwark of anti-Communism in the world and a beacon of freedom for the enslaved people on the mainland. It is the inescapable responsibility for us to carry out the mission of national salvation and mainland recovery and win the final victory over the Communists."
The Taiwan Garrison Command uncovered a subversive organization calling itself the "People's Liberation Front" and arrested three suspects, the Government Information Office announced.
The three suspects were identified as Tai Huai-kuang from Tsang-hsien, Hopei, Lai Ming-lieh of Chiayi and Liu Kuo-chi of Taichung. The announcement said they were all born in or around 1951. That would put their age at 26. Tai studied in the United States, the announcement said, but didn't disclose when, where or for how long.
The specific charges against the three were:
1. In January 1977, the "front" sent letters to foreign-owned factories and businesses threatening to take violent measures against them unless they withdrew from Taiwan by June. This was an effort to sabotage Taiwan's economy. Additionally, the group scattered propaganda materials of the Chinese Communist party in the Choushan Street area of Taipei March 30 in an attempt to disturb social stability.
2. In September and October, the accused prepared at their residence on Roosevelt Road in Taipei the following subversive materials: "Organic Charter of the People's Liberation Front," "Manifesto of the People's Liberation Front," "Letter to the People from the People's Liberation Front," "Instigating Class Hatred," "Encouraging Struggle" and "A Cul de Sac." These materials were intended to expand their organization and further their cause of overthrowing the government by force and violence.
3. On November 1, they cut stencils and mimeographed at their residence large quantities of the "Manifesto of the People's Liberation Front," "Letter to the People from the People's Liberation Front," etc. They planned to begin the distribution of these materials November 9, taking advantage of the activities of candidates in the election to create social disorder and carry out their conspiracy as opportunity permitted.
The Taiwan Garrison Command is continuing its intensive investigation together with the Bureau of Investigation of the Ministry of Justice.
As the case was of great seriousness, the Taiwan Garrison Command gave a reward of NT$1 million to an informant.
Leonard Unger, the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of China, said the United States is making a careful study in its approach to "normalizing" relations with Red China.
Speaking at a monthly meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce, Ambassador Unger said, "Normalization continues to be the policy of the present administration as it was of its predecessors. But there is nothing that anyone can say about 'when.'''
No significant development has been made on normalization in the over two months "since I've been away from Taiwan," the ambassador said.
"The concerns of our Chinese friends here on Taiwan on the China issue are being taken more specifically and carefully into account," he continued.
Unger said "those rumors you may have heard about my not coming back to Taiwan were greatly exaggerated. Many people told me how pleased they are that I have in fact returned."
Termination of the U.S. defense treaty with the Republic of China would have a dangerous and damaging impact upon the whole of the Asian region, according to participants in the Williamsburg VII conference held in Canberra.
The Williamsburg conferences are private "think-tanks" of prominent government, business and media people called together under the sponsorship of John D. Rockefeller III.
The first such conference was held in 1971 at Williamsburg, Va.
Rockefeller believed that the 1971 Kissinger trip to Peiping would have a tremendous impact not only upon Peiping-Washington relations, but also upon the political balance of the whole of the Western Pacific. He feared that many people would see the trip as an exclusively Peiping-Washington matter, and that they would miss the implications it held for the rest of the Asian world. On his own initiative, he invited a group of about 30 Asian and American leaders to the Williamsburg conference.
Similar conferences were held in Indonesia in 1972, Japan in 1973, Hongkong in 1974, Vancouver in 1975, Penang in 1976 and Canberra this year.
Attending the Canberra conference were Derek Davies of the Far Eastern Economic Review; Rachmet Saleh, governor of the Bank of Indonesia; Yukio Matsumyami of the Asahi Shimbun; Nabuhiko Ushiba, former ambassador to Washington; Kim Kyung Won, special assistant to the South Korean president; Ali Chazali Shafie, Malaysian minister for home affairs; Thanat Khoman, former foreign minister of Thailand; Alejandro Melchor, executive director of the Asian Development Bank; Nick Parkinson, secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs; Norman MacRae of the London Economist; James Reston of the New York Times; Frank Corner, New Zealand's secretary for foreign affairs; and Ivan Head of the Canadian prime minister's office.
A 32-member California group of mayors and councilmen signed a resolution drafted by George Richard Voigt, executive director of the California Contract Cities Association, to "support the efforts of the Republic of China."
The resolution was drafted when the group paid a visit to the Vocational Assistance Commission for Retired Servicemen.
Followmg is the text:
"Recognizing the immeasurable contribution made by the government of the Republic of China to the retired servicemen and the economic and educational development of the Republic of China, and
Whereas, the members of the California contract cities and other cities wish to acknowledge the friendship and cultural programs your government has fostered between the United States of America and the Republic of China.
"Be it resolved that the following mayors of California cities support the efforts of the Republic of China; be it also resolved that other public officials of California cities support the efforts of the Republic of China in maintaining a free democratic society and in continuing a close relationship with the United States of America and your efforts to reunite all of the people of China with the Republic of China."
Continuation of the status quo between the United States and the Republic of China is to their mutual interest, said Chinese Ambassador to Washington James C.H. Shen.
In an interview with Bill Vogler, staff writer of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Shen said it was doubtful that Red China would seek a military solution to the China question in the "foreseeable future."
Peiping, Shen said, would continue to press the United States to end the security treaty as well as to switch its recognition.
The strategy, Shen continued, calls for gradual diplomatic isolation of the Republic of China, "so we become an apple ripe to fall into their lap."
Shen warned that ending diplomatic and military ties with the Republic of China could seriously undermine the credibility of the United States and its allies.
"Everybody would be asking, 'What is there to prevent the United States from doing the same thing to us?' " Shen said.
Free China holds the key to world peace and is a trump card to win strategic superiority in a global conflict between the democratic world and the totalitarian bloc, General Wego Chiang, president of the Chinese Armed Forces University, declared.
General Chiang said Asian and Europe are centers of world affairs.
The Soviet Union dominates the heart of the two continents which in combination are termed the "world island."
The United States controls the sea around the giant land mass.
The general quoted the late President Chiang Kai-shek as saying that world peace is decided by stability in Asia and that the Chinese mainland holds the key to peace in Asia.
Whether the Chinese mainland is ruled by a democratic government or controlled by the Communists will decide the fate of the world.
The only way to assure democratic rule is to support the Republic of China, which is the only force which can cope with the Chinese Communists.
General Chiang said the efforts of the United States to forge ties with the Peiping regime to contain Soviet expansion is a strategic blunder which could lead to another world war.
The Communist regime on the Chinese mainland is weak, he said. Its strength can never match that of Soviet Russia.
General Chiang said the Republic of China is in "fighting trim" and that counterattack can begin whenever the time is ripe.
Advanced weapons systems are being introduced in the armed forces, according to Admiral Soong Chang-chih, chief of the general staff.
New equipment is being received by the Army, Navy and Air Force, he said.
Highly mobile units have been established by the Army. The Navy has strengthened its antisubmarine and amphibious warfare capability. The Air Force is equipping an air defense system.
Admiral Soong said that only if the nation has powerful armed forces can its independence and sovereignty be assured.
Rear Admiral James B. Linder, commander of the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command, had words of praise for the military forces of the Republic of China. He said:
"In my brief travels to ROC installations and bases and talking with both senior and junior military personnel, it is my opinion that there is strong dedication, professionalism, personal pride and a sense of purpose displayed by the leaders and the rank and file alike.
"They seem motivated and capable of carrying out their responsibilities with honor. So my job, which includes keeping abreast and informed, has thus far been easy as well as stimulating. However, there are problems including training constraints with our own forces as well as the ROC forces and some lack of technological skills and qualifications; these are but two of our problem areas. Also, there is the ever-present realization that newer weapons systems do not come cheaply or easily. Incidentally, a clear need for such systems must be demonstrated to our government before sales can be consummated ... and hopefully, in the future, common sense and prudence will tend to solve hardware requirements.
"There are clear indications to me that the ROC is willing and capable of assessing its needs and then coming up with the resources to support them. This situation is, indeed, healthy and downright unique when we consider the tens of billion of dollars expended over the years in some other countries with only marginal success to show for the effort. This country is confident and stable; defensive weapons are procured on a strictly cash-and-carry basis - let's hope this trend continues.
"My job ... is mainly a planning job but there are interesting facets such as traveling around and getting to know the people involved. We usually find that the same problems exist in ROC units that also plague ourselves ... such as a lack of people with hard skills to do the job.
"There is also keen competition for the money available, in other words the budget is mighty tight these days. This is always worrisome and time consuming. There is also some indication there is lack of adequate training and a need for demanding operational experience within units.
"This is understandable but it sometimes forces a commander to accept less than a fully combat ready force. However, I must hasten to add that the ROC forces are maintaining their readiness and there is every indication they will continue to improve in all categories."
Taipower announced that the first generating unit of the first nuclear power plant will start commercial production in March or April.
Board chairman L.K. Chen said Taipower had completed loading the unit with 80 tons of uranium pellets.
During the initial test period, the generator's output is limited to about 120,000 kilowatts. This will be gradually increased to capacity of 636,000 kilowatts.
The first generator will be fully operational in June. The second generator will begin tests in August.
Construction of each generator took seven years. Cost of the plant will total NT$28.5 billion.
With decreased dependence on petroleum, Taipower will save at least US$45 million a year in foreign exchange.
Investment in a nuclear plant is twice that in a thermal plant of similar capacity, Chen said. "But the power is 20 per cent cheaper."
Chen said nuclear plants are safer. The risk of accidents is zero because of the safety measures required.
Taipower has obtained sufficient enriched uranium to last until 1982.
"We have been negotiating with suppliers to get uranium to feed our plants after 1982," Chen said. About 1,000 tons will be needed annually at a cost of US$90 million.
Baby alligators thrive better on geothermal heat at a Taipei spa than in their natural habitat.(File photo)
Geothermal power has been generated in Taiwan for the first time in a test at Chingshui, Ilan. The well was drilled by the Chinese Petroleum Corporation. Steam drives a steam turbine converted from an old 1,500-kilowatt unit by engineers and technicians working under the National Science Council.
Taipower will build three nuclear power plants with combined capacity of 5.144 million kilowatts. Each plant will have two generators. Construction of the second plant has been under way for four years. Construction work of the third plant was begun recently.
The council is planning to build a prototype geothermal power plant soon. If experimentation is successful, geothermal plants will be built to generate power commercially.
According to council estimates geothermal deposits in Ilan are sufficient to generate about 1 million kilowatts of power annually, about 17 per cent of current capacity.
One Ilan test well yields steam reaching 170 degrees centigrade.
Several other areas of Taiwan have geothermal deposits. American experts who surveyed the geothermal potential estimated a potential power output of 5 million kilowatts.
Exploratory work was carried out at Tatunshan near Taipei by a Swedish company. Power potential was put at 100,000 to 500,000 kilowatts.
One advantage of geothermal energy is low production cost.
Cabinet approval was given a measure designed to solve food supply problems and lower production costs.
The target of the rice harvest in 1978 will be 2,500,000 metric tons, a cut of 200,000 metric tons.
Because of insufficient storage capacity the government is calling on farmers to grow more maize. A guaranteed price of NT$8 per kilogram has been set.
NT$1 billion will be allocated annually in the next four years to finance the purchase of farm machinery. This fund will be matched by bank loans of at least an equal amount.
Prices of farm machines will be cut and quality improved. The Cabinet decided to continue lowering farmland taxes and the cost of irrigation water.
Duty will be cut on fertilizers and fertilizer raw materials. Quality will be raised.
The government also is studying ways to prevent further fragmentation of farmland. Establishment of a fund has been proposed to help implement a provision of the revised land law of July, 1975, providing that only those who want to be farmers and stay on the land may inherit farms. Size of the average farm is down to 1.06 hectares (about 2.5 acres), too small for mechanization. But the revised law cannot be implemented because those who inherit farms do not have the money to buy out their brothers and sisters. The proposed fund would provide loans for this purpose.
Agriculture will get NT$12,900 million (US$ 339.5 million) in investments in 1978, an increase of 4 per cent over 1977.
The government will contribute NT$4,900 million, or 38 per cent. The rest will come from the private sector.
The government will pay for such projects as water conservancy, reforestation, construction of silos and fishing ports, and establishment of a marketing system for farm produce.
Private funds will provide machinery, housing, fruit trees, seeds, animals, fishing boats and fish ponds.
The farmland consolidation program introduced in 1960 has resulted in a substantial rise in agricultural output and considerable savings of farm labor.
Crop yield per hectare has risen by 32 per cent and the manpower saving has reached 20 per cent, the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction reported.
JCRR statistics showed that 262,424 hectares of agricultural land have been consolidated. The following improvements have been made:
-Eighty-six per cent of farmers are tilling integrated plots compared with 42 per cent before 1960.
-All consolidated plots are accessible to roads and have direct access to irrigation and drainage facilities compared with 20 per cent before 1960.
-The average size of the smallest plots has increased to 0.25 hectares compared with 0.07 hectares before 1960.
Sugar production for 1977 was estimated at 770,000 metric tons, down from the more than 900,000 metric tons of 1976. The drop was caused mainly by typhoons and heavy rains.
For 1978, the goal will be set at 850,000 metric tons.
The state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corporation is embarking on a program to enlarge the production of by-products. The six-year plan calls for the upgrading of production facilities. further utilization of mountain slopes and increased pulp output.
CPC is studying plans to set up a plant to make furfural, a solvent used in the petrochemical industry.
The corporation has refineries with a combined capacity of 800,000 to 1 million tons. Most of the sugar is exported to Japan, South Korea and the United States.
One hundred and fifty-two townships in Taiwan have wiped out poverty thanks to a government-sponsored program, the Taiwan Provincial Government reported.
"Operation Well-to-Do" has reduced the number of welfare recipients from 391,000 to 34,000 persons since 1972.
The following activities have been carried out in the last five years:
- Loans to 3,524 families to start small businesses or purchase tools.
- Vocational training for 33,682 persons.
- Vocational assistance for 130,000.
- Handicraft employment for more than 90,000.
- Government scholarships for 3,622.
- Education loans to 40,000 students.
- Free medical service for most welfare recipients.
- Relief and subsidies for more than 140,000 families.
Hospitalization was given 20,299 persons.
Year after year, the Republic of China chalks up some of the world's most impressive marks for increases in the GNP and per capita income