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Les lumières s'éteignent, plus de train sur l'autre côté. A Fuxing gang déjà, feux éteints. WTO talks achieve some progress, but FLOP: West African cotton growers came away happy, but they were the only ones after the EU refused to move on farm subsidies Pan-blues may allow defense debate CONCESSION: The pan-blue camp says that it may finally allow debate on the US arms purchase, provided that defense spending is boosted to 3 percent of GDP The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) will consider allowing debate on the administration's major arms purchase bill at the legislature if the administration immediately boosts defense spending to 3 percent of GDP, a senior KMT official said yesterday. Pan-blue merger faces challenges TOUGH ROAD: Many pan-blue supporters have high hopes for a KMT-PFP merger, but the issues of at-large legislators and James Soong's ambitions are problematic By Mo Yan-chih It took about a year after he vetoed a merger plan between his party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) to change tack and discuss such a possibility with his KMT counterpart. But his high-profile meeting with KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday -- in which the two agreed on cooperation but no immediate merger plan -- proved once again that KMT-PFP consolidation remains an elusive goal. Avoid marginalization by China, analysts urge STAYING IN THE GAME: Since China is doing its best to keep Taiwan out of regional economic forums, the naiton must pursue creative strategies By Shih Hsiu-chuan While it's too early to judge the prospects for the "pan-Asian" free trade community mentioned in the inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS), Taiwan, which has been excluded from participating, should devise a strategy to avoid being marginalized before it's too late, analysts said. `Portraits Taiwan' to showcase the nation's spirit A special series of programs showcasing Taiwan's vigor and can-do spirit is slated to be aired on the Discovery Channel from Dec. 25. Government troubles the youth ANXIETY ATTACK: The results of a recent survey show that Taiwan's youth is most anxious about the way in which the government is running the country at present By Jenny Chou The top five factors causing anxiety among the Taiwanese youth are social outlook, future personal development, school environment, family influences and how the government runs the country, according to the results of a survey released yesterday. First new ID cards issued Wednesday, but who will queue? New identification (ID) cards for Taiwanese citizens will be issued on Wednesday. The question now is whether political leaders will have to pick up their cards in person. Local biologist berates government over Spratly Islands NOT ENOUGH: Apart from putting soldiers on Taiping Island, Taiwan has done nothing to stake its sovereignty claim in the Spratly group, a local biologist said yesterday CNA , TAIPEI Sunday, Dec 18, 2005,Page 2 A local biologist yesterday urged the government to strengthen its management of the Spratly Islands to assert its sovereignty claim over the disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Jeng Ming-shiou (鄭明修), a research fellow at the Academia Sinica's Research Center for Biodiversity, said that Taiwan, which currently occupies Taiping Island (太平島) -- one of the biggest Spratly islets -- is the country that first stationed forces in the island group, but the government has done virtually nothing besides that to stake its claim. Unlike Taiwan, Malaysia has turned Swallow Reef -- that it occupies -- into a tourist attraction by developing a holiday resort, desalination plant and wind-power plant there, Jeng said. With the large number of beautiful marine creatures and coral reefs around the Spratlys, the government should value the tourist potential of Taiping Island and conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment before going ahead with its plan to build an airport on the island so as not to damage its plants and marine resources, he said. Vice Minister of National Defense Huo Shou-yeh (霍守業) confirmed on Thursday that the government will build an airport on Taiping Island but emphasized that the airport is not intended for military use but for humanitarian purposes, such as emergency rescue efforts by the Coast Guard for sick or injured sailors or fishermen. The Spratly Islands, which consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs surrounded by rich fishing grounds and oil deposits, are claimed either entirely or partially by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. The claimants have stationed small numbers of military personnel on some of the islands. Jeng said that the government and people of Taiwan have not paid enough attention to the country's maritime sovereignty and the importance of the sustainable development of maritime resources. For example, Jeng said, the Spratly Islands and Pratas Islands are home to some of the world's most precious and biodiverse coral reefs, but they are very often left out of the government's policy-making process. He suggested that the government step up its marine-life survey in the South China Sea and establish a ministry of maritime affairs to promote cooperation with other countries to conserve the maritime resources of the Spratly Islands. This story has been viewed 298 times.