In Brief
Taiwan unveils improved home-built fighter jet
Taiwan yesterday unveiled an upgraded version of the locally made defence fighter plane to help bolster the island's air defences in the wake of a rapid military build-up by the mainland. A twin-seat Hsiung Yin, or Brave Hawk, produced by the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, was inaugurated at an airbase on the outskirts of Taichung. 'Now that we are able to build and upgrade our warplanes, it can significantly help boost our air defence capability,' President Chen Shui-bian said. The defence ministry has budgeted NT$7 billion (HK$1.65 billion) for a mid-life upgrade of the 130 Ching Kuo defence fighters, which include both single and twin seats. The ministry says the upgraded version is fitted with extra fuel tanks to allow it to stay in the air much longer. Lawrence Chung
Campaign launched to improve coal mine safety
A US$14 million project has been launched to improve mainland coal mine safety standards over the next four years. The initiative has been started by the UN Development Programme and a government agency. The UNDP will provide a 'seed fund' of more than US$2 million and the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety will commit more than US$12 million in logistical support and tax breaks for trials in five provinces, including Shanxi and Guizhou . These range from training programmes for miners, reviews of safety regulations and awareness campaigns for miners' families. Raymond Li
Tianjin hopes to get backing for development zone soon
Tianjin is hopeful the central government will soon approve a comprehensive development for the Binhai New Development Zone, the city's mayor, Dai Xianglong , said. Mr Dai told a municipal government meeting the development plan would be submitted to the State Council soon and he hoped it would be approved in May. The development zone has a total area of 2,270 sq km and is made up of Tianjin and the surrounding area of the Bohai Bay. It has been hailed as China's next new boom centre following the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta. Staff Reporter