Ottawa announced that the Canadian Embassy in Stockholm had been instructed to discuss an exchange of diplomats with representatives of the Chinese Communists. Rome told of intention to recognize the Peiping regime. The Republic of China quickly reacted with expressions of shock and regret. Free China maintains embassies in both Canada and Italy.
Although the Ottawa and Rome announcements were not entirely a surprise, they seemed strangely timed. The Republic of China's relations with both countries have been friendly and correct. Nothing that happened on the China mainland gave the slightest indication that the Mao Tse-tung regime had changed its stripes.
Mao had completed his 29 "revolutionary committees" but was still a long way from victory in the "great proletarian cultural revolution". Violence and challenges from anti-Maoists and anti-Communists still prevented Mao from calling the ninth congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
Canada and Italy may have put stock in rumors that the Maoists were about to send ambassadors back to their posts and undertake a diplomatic offensive. However, as February neared an end, the only Chinese Communist diplomat of ambassadorial rank stationed abroad was the chief of mission in Cairo. This has been the case for going on three years.
Canada's Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau indicated that he hoped to persuade Peiping to be less aggressive and more reasonable. That seemed merely a wishful thought. Since the "cultural revolution" began, the Chinese Communists have had kind words only for Albania. In the wake of the defection of Liao Ho-shu, who was the Red Chinese charge d'affaires at The Hague, the Maoists seized three pleasure junks on the high seas between Hongkong and Macao and kidnapped 11 non-Chinese, including four Americans. This was an act of piracy and a violation of civilized behavior.
Also strangely, in view of its stand at the United Nations in recent years, the Canadian government denied that it endorses a policy of "two Chinas". This seemed to imply that if Peiping demanded severance of relations with the Republic of China, Ottawa would be prepared to pay the price.
Ambassador Hsueh Yu-chi delivered two protests to the Canadian government in five days. The ROC note of February 10 said:
"The announcement made by the Honorable Mitchell Sharp (Canada's Minister of External Affairs) this afternoon in the House of Commons about the Canadian initiative to approach the Chinese Communists for negotiations with a view to establishing diplomatic relations with them is distressing to the Chinese people, to the government of the Republic of China and to me personally.
"Since its occupation of the mainland provinces of China, the Chinese Communist regime, repressive at home and aggressive abroad in its policies and actions, has become the source of all troubles in Asia. The Canadian action is tantamount to giving encouragement and support to the tyrannical rule of the Chinese Communist regime and deals a severe blow to the 700 million Chinese people in their struggle for freedom. It further increases the threat of the Chinese Communist regime to the region of Asia and the Pacific and endangers the peace and security of the world. On behalf of my government, I delivered a protest to the Canadian government on February 5. I have this afternoon delivered a second note of protest. It is still the hope of my government that the Canadian government will reconsider its position.
"My government and people keep faith in the traditional friendship between Canada and the Republic of China. I appeal to all Chinese nationals in Canada to remain calm in this trying hour and to have confidence in the government of the Republic of China in its continuing efforts to solve this present difficulty."
In Rome, it was Foreign Minister Pietro Nenni who announced in parliament that the time had come to recognize Peiping. Ambassador Hsu Shao-chang asked the Italian foreign ministry for clarification.There had been no advance indication of Nenni’s declaration.
Rome sources said the Italian government's move reflected belief that the Chinese Communists were preparing for a thaw in their relationships with the Western democracies. ROC sources pointed out that evidence of such Peiping intention was lacking. They suggested that Nenni might be merely "talking out loud". The Italians have talked of recognition several times since 1964 and have been backers of U.N. proposals to establish a committee to study the admission of the Red Chinese regime.
Belgium denied reports that it was about to recognize Peiping. A foreign ministry spokesman said the government is not opposed to recognition but that "certain conditions" would have to be fulfilled first.
In Tokyo, Prime Minister Eisaku Sato told the Diet that the Japanese government has no intention of recognizing Red China or of promoting its admission to the United Nations. Peiping is detaining 13 Japanese nationals, including one newsman. Three futile Japanese attempts to free them were made last year.
The U.S. Department of State expressed opposition to the Canadian negotiations in Stockholm and called attention to the possible effect on the peace and security of East Asia. President Nixon's statement opposing the U.N. admission of Peiping was welcomed by the ROC foreign ministry.
There was no precipitous action or panic in the face of the Ottawa and Rome developments. The government was determined to appeal to the reason and the self-interest of the Canadian and Italian governments and to maintain friendly relations with them as long as possible.' This did not, of course, imply any acceptance of "two Chinas". The possibility of any country recognizing and having diplomatic relations with both Peiping and the Republic of China is out of the question.
Not all news of international relations was as somber as that from Ottawa and Rome. The Republic of Vietnam announced that President Nguyen Van Thieu will visit the Republic of China in mid-May during the course of a tour of East Asian countries. He also will go to Thailand and South Korea.
Returning from a visit to Japan, S. Y. Dao, the secretary-general of the Council for International Economic Cooperation and Development, said the Japanese are considering a new loan to the ROC, which has proposed an amount of US$300 million to be used over an indefinite period. Part of the US$150 million loan that Japan extended in 1964 is still unspent.
As under the previous loan, the money would be spent in Japan for machinery, materials and services.
Visiting Lesotho Deputy Prime Minister Sekhonyana Maseribane called upon the free world to help overthrow Chinese Communist tyranny. He said that Lesotho is contemplating the establishment of an embassy in Taipei. Free China already has an embassy in Maseru. The African leader had an hour's talk with President Chiang Kai-shek.
Advance guard of a Chinese agricultural assistance team is already in Lesotho.
Peru soon will receive agricultural technical assistance from a Chinese team of rice and irrigation experts. An on-the-spot survey will be made first. The agreement was reached during a Taipei visit by Dr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, secretary-general of the Peruvian foreign ministry.
Visitors from Iran were Senate Speaker Jafar Sharif-Emami and Senator Tajer Ziai. They saw Vice President C. K. Yen and urged closer economic relations between the two countries.
Regional economic cooperation between the ROC and Korea is continuing to develop. Representatives of steel and textile industries will meet in March to discuss regional cooperation in marketing and the avoidance of destructive competition. The steel meeting will be held in Seoul, the textile meeting in Taipei. Scheduled for the fall is an industrial conference that will cover a wider range of products.
Thailand sent a 10-man economic mission to Taiwan to observe reconstruction, land reform and agricultural development. Several Chinese agricultural technicians are helping Thailand increase agricultural production. Thailand is assisting the Republic of China with urban planning and highway construction.
Approved by the Executive Yuan (cabinet) was a US$10 million, 90-day line of credit for Indonesia. Repayment is guaranteed by the Central Bank of Indonesia. Implementation will follow the opening of trade offices in Jakarta and Taipei. Indonesia is interested in buying rice, fertilizer, cement and cotton textiles.
Slated for late May opening is a Taipei exhibition of European industrial products. Of the 126 booths, 107 have been taken for the first such showing in Taiwan's history. The three-week event is sponsored by the China Productivity and Trade Center to encourage trade and technical cooperation with Europe.
Japan honored four Chinese civic leaders with decorations on the occasion of the Meiji centennial. Ambassador Hisanaga Shimadzu gave the Order of the Rising Sun first class, highest award that can be made to a foreigner, to Ku Cheng-kang, former interior minister and world anti-Communist leader. Also honored were Dr. Chang Chi-yun, chairman of the board of trustees of the College of Chinese Culture; Dr. Tu Tsung-ming, former president of the Kaohsiung Medical College; and Dr. Wei Huo-yao, dean of the College of Medicine, National Taiwan University.
Export volume of US$1 billion in 1969 is predicted by Wang Yi-ting, the director of the International Trade Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He said that for 1968, foreign trade represented 20 per cent of the gross national product. This is higher than in Britain or Japan.
To be considered by the Executive Yuan is a Ministry of Economic Affairs plan for establishment of a Foreign Trade Development Association which would muster all available resources for the expansion of commerce. The new agency would be modeled after its Japanese counterpart and would train trade personnel, help manufacturers and traders collect trade information, establish foreign business contacts and conduct negotiations on behalf of domestic companies. The initial operating fund would be US$1 million.
Taiwan trade has been handicapped by lack of promotion. Foreign commerce is in the hands of separate groups that lack the know-how and the financing to get maximum results.
In 1968, industrial products made up 65 per cent of exports. Volume was approximately US$552 million. The percentage was 55 in 1966 and 60 in 1967.
For this year, the goal is 70 per cent. As recently as 1955, industry accounted for only 7 per cent of exports with a volume of just over US$11 million. Among major industries, 90 per cent of plywood, 75 per cent of metals, 70 per cent of textiles and chemicals, and 60 per cent of cement and construction materials are sold abroad.
The 1969 target for textile exports is US$200 million. In 1945, Taiwan had 20,000 spindles. The count now exceeds a million.
Established by the Ministry of Economic Affairs was an ad hoc committee to help exporters sell to South Vietnam under rules and regulations laid down by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Republic of China is one of nine exporters designated by AID as suppliers of U.S.-funded non-military goods to the free Vietnamese.
In non-AID trade with South Vietnam, Japan is the major Taiwan competitor, according to the deputy director of the International Trade Bureau. Shao Hsueh-kun said Japan is seeking to expand its markets in South Vietnam and that the Republic of China must meet the competitive challenge. ROC exports to Saigon were US$37 million last year compared with US$75 million in 1967 and US$89 million in 1966.
These were other trade notes:
-Establishment of a trade office is contemplated in Singapore. The Singapore government may reciprocate with an office in Taipei.
-The China Display Center will arrange participation in nine foreign trade fairs during the first half - of 1969. The sites will be in Japan, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Congo, Paraguay, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States.
-Export figures for 1968 included US$77 million for canned mushrooms, asparagus and pineapple and US$14.5 million for tea.
An Executive Yuan report to the Legislative Yuan said the government would follow these guidelines in the 1969-1970 fiscal year:
-Increased administrative efficiency to achieve unity at home, recovery and reconstruction of the mainland, advancement of the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement, improved job classification and the incentive of increased pay. "
-Implementation of the land equalization program enhanced urban development, stepped-up vocational training and more job placement help.
-More dynamic diplomatic and information offensives; enhancement of regional unity and trade and technical cooperation.
-Augmentation and modernization of the defense system; improved training and more retirement benefits for servicemen.
-Tax reform, improvement of financial and monetary policies, control of inflation and encouragement of savings for investment.
-Expansion of the infrastructure to meet the needs of industry and the people; promotion of heavy industry to meet national defense needs.
-Emphasis of science in education, improvement of the nine-year schooling program, stepped-up vocational education, inculcation of ethics and maximum use of Chinese talents abroad.
-Legal research to assure a law-abiding community; attention to the guidance of youth.
-Attention to the requirements and the aspirations of overseas Chinese communities and the combatting of Communist infiltration and subversion among Chinese everywhere.
From the China Productivity and Trade Center came a basic program for improving business administration. CPTC recommends:
-Dispatch of a fact-finding mission of business executives to the United States to study, observe and exchange views with American counterparts.
-Establishment of a training program for top-level executives with the assistance of Stanford University and the United Nations.
-Strengthening of science relations and cooperation among Asian countries.
-Raising the level of business administration through' international activities and movements.
-Assistance to business and industrial management, as exemplified in the work of the International Executive Service Corps and the Volunteer International Management Cooperation Committee of Japan.
Returning from Japan, Koo Chen-fu, chairman of the Chinese National Association of Industries and 'Commerce, told of the establishment of the Private Investment Company for Asia, which is expected to extend long-term credits to Chinese enterprises of medium size. Executives will come to Taiwan in May for a survey.
PICA grew out of the suggestions of Koo, the president of the Taiwan Cement Corporation. Shareholders are from Japan, the United States, Australia, West Germany, Switzerland and Britain. Those who receive PICA funds may not hold shares. Koo said that in Taiwan the PICA executives will be interested in manufacturing, forestry and fishery.
Business know-how will be spurred by a March seminar to help inform businessmen, contractors, bankers and government procurement officials on credit requirements for purchases made in the United States. U.S. government officials, bankers and industrialists will participate.
Minister of Economic Affairs K. T. Li cut the ribbon and Vice President and Prime Minister C. K. Yen sent a message as the Industrial Exhibition of 1969 opened in Taipei for a two-month run. The Vice President said the goods displayed indicate the rapid progress of the Republic of China in both manufacturing sophistication and quality.
A US$1 million rubber products plant built in only 11 months began production in suburban Taipei. The Formosan Rubber Corporation factory will make 2 million pairs of rubber footwear annually for foreign exchange earnings of US$3 million. Employment will be given 800 persons. FRC also makes rubber boats, mattresses and other products. The company has received a certificate of excellence from Montgomery Ward.
Taiwan modernization is reflected in the growth of the Chinese Petroleum Corporation. Revenues in creased 25 per cent to US$132 million last year. CPC produces and refines oil, imports crude from the Middle East and produces and distributes natural gas. The sale of natural gas rose 43 per cent to 700 million cubic meters in 1968.
CPC is acquiring three 100,000-ton tankers to transport crude oil from the Middle East to Kaohsiung, where the CPC refinery and other facilities are located. The government-owned corporation plans a second refinery in northern Taiwan.
Telecommunication gains continued in 1968. The number of dial telephones increased 23 per cent to nearly 209,000. Long distance lines were expanded by 18.6 per cent. Direct dialing to the United States is scheduled before the end of 1969. Direct dialing has started between Keelung and Taipei. Vice President Yen made a picture-phone call to Keelung Mayor Su Teh-liang on February 1. Commercial service is not yet available.
Slated for initial operation on China's National Day October 10 is the Taiwan ground station for satellite communications. With its completion, the Republic of China will have 156 new telephone circuits and a television circuit to Japan and the Americas. The new television station, CTV, has announced plans for broadcasting programs of outstanding importance received live via Comsat.
Scheduled for November in Taipei are the fifth Asian Electronics Industry Conference and the third Asian Electronics Industry Exhibition. This will be the first ties these events have been held outside Japan.
Taiwan has 125 electronics manufacturers, 50 of them foreign-owned. Exports were US$60 million in 1968 and are expected to reach at least US$350 million within the next five years.
Taiwan Power Company will invest US$425 million in the next four years to increase output from 1,940,000 kilowatts to nearly 3.4 million. These are the principal projects:
-Lower Tachien hydroelectric plant (180,000 kw).
-Second generating unit at Linkou thermal plant (350,000 kw).
-Expansion of Lungchien hydro plant (36,300 kw).
-Completion of Tachien Dam and hydro project (234,000 kw).
-Linkou nuclear plant (500,000 kw).
-Three thermal units at Kaohsiung (two of 300,000 and one of 350,000 kw).
Civil aviation facilities are hard-pressed to keep up with the steadily increasing flow of travelers.
Three American companies are bidding on construction of an additional apron and departure lounge to accommodate 1,200 at Taipei International Airport.
Including transit passengers, 582,804 travelers used the Sungshan terminal last year.
Cargo service to the new international airport in Kaohsiung will start in April.
Passenger service will be instituted after the construction of additional facilities and the amendment of the Republic of China's civil aviation agreements with other countries.
Acquitted by the Taipei District Court. were two American pilots who had been charged with manslaughter in the crash of a Civil Air Transport Boeing 727 near Taipei the evening of February 16, 1968.
The pilots were Hugh H. Hicks, who was at the controls, and Stuart E. Dew, the captain of the aircraft, which was flying from Hongkong to Taiwan. Acquittal was based largely on a report submitted to the court by Col. Chow Ying-lung of the Chinese Air Force. Twenty-one of the 63 passengers were killed and CAT subsequently dropped its passenger flights and became exclusively a cargo carrier.
One hundred and forty factories have been approved for the Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone. Eighty are already in operation and exports totaled US$28 million in 1968. The export goal is US$60 million this year and should reach US$160 million when all 140 plants are in operation. Employment is now 17,000 and will rise to 34,000.
KEPZ will have room for only about 150 plants at the maximum. But another zone is to be opened near Kaohsiung in 1971.
Banana growers and traders were warned that Latin America will make a big bid for the Japanese market with cut-rate prices. Taiwan's exports to Japan, the only big buyer, declined to US$56 million last year. The Taiwan Fruit Exporters' Association is taking steps to assure better packaging, improved quality and faster delivery.
Cartons are to replace baskets immediately as banana containers. The International Trade Bureau approved the import of 2,850,000 cartons and set a quota of 650,000 boxes from local paper mills. The baskets originally were to have been phased out over a period of several years, but the increasing competition of Latin America and the Philippines compelled an immediate changeover.
Land reform is to be completed with the purchase of more than 64,000 hectares leased to tenant farmers. Altogether, Taiwan still has some 112,000 tenant farmers. They will receive loans to help them acquire land of their own.
Government is also moving to protect Taiwan's limited supply of good farmland from increasing industrial and residential encroachment. As far as possible, Grade' A farmland will be reserved for agricultural use.
Plans were announced by the Taiwan Provincial Government for making rural villages into 4,633 model communities within the next eight years. The cost will be more than US$50 million. Each community will have all modern conveniences. About half the cost will be borne by those who benefit from the project.
Goals for the 1969 crop year include 2,560,000 tons of rice to be grown in an area of 826,000 hectares. The government is undertaking a US$6 million farm mechanization program to cope with the increasing shortage of rural labor.
Last year's fishery catch was 531,045 metric tons, 6.8 per cent higher than the target and 15.9 per cent above 1967. Exports totaled 86,149 m/t worth US$33,251,000. Constructed in 1968 were 137 deep-sea fishing boats totaling 31,172 tons and 570 coastal vessels totaling 7,678 tons.
Mayor Henry Kao said the face of Taipei will be much changed within the next few years as improvement projects now under way are completed. Implementation of a new zoning ordinance also will assure favorable changes.
More than 7,200 shacks have been razed in two last two and a half years and some 5,100 more will be pulled down in the next 18 months. Many streets are being widened. Bonds will be issued to help pay for community projects. The first of nearly US$9 million is to be floated April 1 and will bear interest of 4 per cent. Where land is taken by eminent domain, owners will receive all or part of the payment in bonds.
According to the Council for International Economic Cooperation and Development, Taipei population should level off at 2.5 million. The city now has 1.6 million. Growth of suburban communities will relieve the pressure on Taipei.
Contemplated for the city's famous "Circle" of eateries is a 10-story building to house restaurants, shops and a theater. The location is the junction of Nanking West, Chungking North, Ninghsia and Tien-shui Roads.
Taxi drivers of the city will be in uniform as of March 1. For summer, dress will be silver gray shirts and trousers. For winter, the color will be the same but jackets, ties and caps will be added.
Two hundred students from six universities and colleges spent their winter vacation cleaning up parts of the city that most needed the attention of mop, broom and shovel. They were assigned to seven teams. The Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) carried out its eighth social service campaign in Taipei during a two-week period. This activity subsequently will be extended to the rest of Taiwan. Help is given the needy in a program financed by both government and private contributions.
Taiwan's Provincial Government Council held its 1,000th weekly meeting with General Huang Chieh, former commander of the Chinese Army and the seventh governor of the province, in the chair. He took office in December of 1962. Of the 21 members of the Council, only Food Bureau Director R. C. Li was at the first session.
Governor for the initial meeting on May 16, 1947, was Wei Tao-ming, who is now the Republic of China's foreign minister. Other governors have included the late Chen Cheng, who later became vice president of the Republic, and C. K. Yen, the incumbent vice president and prime minister. The Council guides and advises the governor, who is appointed by the president of the Republic. The Provincial Assembly is elected by the people.
In answering a Provincial Assemblyman, Governor Huang denied that the Taiwan and Taipei governments have been quarreling over tax revenues. To the contrary, the governor said, the province and the island's largest city are cooperating for the national good.
Vice President C. K. Yen told a youth guidance seminar that vocational assistance is imperative in Taiwan because 43.4 per cent of the island's 14 million people are under 15 years old. This is the world's fourth highest youth ratio. Further indicating the youthfulness of the population is the fact that 95.3 pet cent are under the age of 49.
Vice President Yen called attention to the summer activities program of the China Youth Corps. More than 100,000 participated last year. Lee Huan, the deputy director of CYC, pointed out that many countries have had serious student unrest but that Taiwan's young people are disciplined and law-abiding. However, Taiwan youth has problems that require attention, he added.
The World Bank has agreed in principle to loan US$10 million to the Republic of China for the improvement of vocational education. The bank sent a fact-finding mission to Taiwan and will base its final decision on the report of experts in education, man-power resources, vocational education and school construction.
Both Taiwan Province and Taipei City are spending much more on education. The Provincial Government decided to raise the three-year budget for the new nine-year program of schooling from US$71.5 million to US$90 million. The budget for the 1969-70 fiscal year will be US$30 million.
Taipei will spend about US$21 million on education in the next fiscal year, approximately a third of the budget. Within the city, more than 91 per cent of pupils who finished primary school last year went on to junior high under the nine-year program. The total admitted for the fall semester was 31,397, of whom only 557 are enrolled in private schools.
Education for overseas Chinese students also is booming. More than 8,000 Chinese from Southeast Asia are studying in Taiwan universities and colleges. The largest group - 2,847 - is from Malaysia. The government gives nearly 500 scholarships.
Expected overseas admissions for the 1969-70 school year total 2,597.
An interesting educational footnote was the fact that of high school graduates, more girls than boys are going on to college. The percentages are 83.81 and 64.71.
To be dedicated March 29- Youth Day and Martyrs' Day-is a Martyrs' Shrine. Architecture is based on the Tai Ho palace of the Ch'ing dynasty in Peiping but the interior will be different. Taiwan marble is used extensively.
Free Chinese science took another forward step with the signing of a science and technology cooperation agreement with the United States. The six-year pact calls for:
-Increased contacts and cooperation between scientists, engineers, scholars and research institutions of the two countries. Social sciences are included.
-Designation of the National Science Council as the executive agency of the Republic of China and of the National Science Foundation as the U.S. counterpart.
-Sharing of findings with the world scientific community.
Newly approved by the National Security Council is a long-range science development program. The budget for the first year starting July 1 is US$30 million. Emphasis will be placed on science education, research and industrial application of scientific know-how.
The Executive Yuan approved establishment of a committee to undertake research, development and administrative evaluation. The goal will be more scientific and competent government.
Taiwan continued to display one of the Far East's fastest rates of tourism growth. For 1968, civilian visitors numbered more than 301,000 for a gain of 19.2 per cent. When American servicemen from Vietnam were included, the figure rose to nearly 350,000.
Of the civilians, 250,000 were foreigners and 51,000 were overseas Chinese. The number of foreigners increased by 26.4 per cent; overseas Chinese decreased by 7.1 per cent. The average period of stay was 5.59 days at a cost of US$31.58 per day. Including the spending of servicemen, which was higher, revenues totaled nearly US$65 million.
Japanese led among civilian tourists with 103,000 (41.3 per cent) followed by 76,000 Americans (30.4 per cent). European visitors made up only 5 per cent of the total.
Several large groups are planning to visit Taiwan this year. The Osaka 70 fair in Japan next year should mean an overflow tourism boom for both Taiwan and Hongkong.
Proposals to raise the pay of tax officials were made by the Commission on Taxation Reform and considered by the Executive Yuan. Increases would establish minimum pay of about USS100 and maximum of US$250. The Commission expressed hope that higher salaries would mitigate corruption and lead to higher tax collections.
Some Cabinet members suggested that the raises should apply only to those directly concerned with collection and that administrative workers should not be included. The Provincial Assembly raised objection to the proposal as inequitable to other government employees.
Ten American highway engineers are beginning studies of the route for the Taipei-Chungli freeway. This will be the first link in the Taipei-Kaohsiung expressway and construction is expected to start early next year. Cost of the whole project will be about US$250 million. Budget for the Taipei-Chungli stretch of 36 kilometers will be about US$32 million.
More than US$5 million will be allocated for a highway to link Kaohsiung with the port city's new international airport. Construction will be expedited.
Help in the amount of US$1.69 million will come from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N. for the southern Taiwan cross-island highway. Total cost will be US$8.75 million and completion is expected in 1973.
Newly opened is a 6.1-kilometer stretch of road on the Taipei-Peitou highway. The cost was nearly US$2 million.
Aerial surveys have been completed for the projected around-the-island railroad. Construction will include a line from Suao to Hualien (51 miles) on the east coast and from Fangliao to Taitung in the south (64 miles). The existing Hualien-Taitung line will have to be converted from narrow to standard gauge. Tentative cost of the whole project is US$85 million.
Established by the Kuomintang was an ad hoc committee headed by Ku Cheng-kang, anti-Communist leader and former interior and social affairs minister, to study land price inflation and equalization. Several plans will be examined by the committee, which will report to the KMT Congress that has been called for March 29.
Courts of Taiwan handled 339,584 cases in 1968 -254,469 of them civil and 85,115 criminal. Fines collected totaled US$10 million. Bad check cases, which have plagued the business community in recent years, were fewer last year.
A new venture in jurisprudence will be the opening of six traffic courts. They will operate under district courts and the Taiwan High Court.
Early February brought a brief cold snap to Taiwan. The mercury reached 43 at Taipei, 33 on Yangmingshan and 17 on Mt. Morrison. There was snow on Yangmingshan (Grass Mountain) and thousands of Taipei residents ascended their suburban mountain to feel the white stuff and take some of it home in pots and pails. Snow was two feet deep on Mt. Hohuan, the site of Taiwan's only ski slope.
Then a warm front came flowing up from the South Pacific and temperatures reached the 60s and 70s in northern Taiwan and the 80s in the south for a warm Lunar New Year February 17. Taken as a whole, the winter was unusually warm and rainfall was subnormal in the north.
Three ambassadors changed places. General Peng Meng-chi, who has been in Thailand, replaced Chen Chih-mai in Japan. Chen went to the Vatican to take over from Shen Chang-huan, who went to Thailand.
Ambassador Peng is former commander of the Chinese Army and former chief of the general staff. Ambassador Chen holds a doctorate from Columbia University and served in the Philippines, New Zealand and Australia before going to Tokyo. Ambassador Shen is a former foreign minister.