■Society
Chen marks 52nd birthday
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) sent his best wishes to all in the country on his 52nd birthday yesterday, saying that it was not just his birthday, but everybody's birthday. "As long as one can breathe, every day can be regarded as birthday," he said. There were no cele-brations at the Presidential Office as per Chen's request and the office turned down a cake bought by DPP staffers. However, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) sent Chen a bouquet of flowers and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) sent him a wine and fruit package. Chen's birthday should be Septem-ber 1950 according to the Lunar calendar. But his parents did not register his birth until Feb. 18 the following year.
■ Examination Yuan
Yao denies media report
Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) yes-terday denied media reports that he favors the abolish-ment of his branch of the government and the transfer of its functions to the executive branch. Yao said the Examination Yuan has no plans concerning its abolishment. He said that it is the legislature's business to decide whether to maintain or abolish the Examination Yuan. He noted that even if the examination branch is abolished, its functions should be trans-ferred to a unit under the jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan or the Presidential Office that has independent budgetary, personnel and policy-making rights. The Examination Yuan oversees the civil service.
■ Cross-strait ties
Koo to attend forum
Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) has accepted an invitation to visit Singapore to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the first cross-strait talks in 1992, said Wang Gungwu, director of the National University of Singapore's East Asia Institute. The institute is sponsoring the event, which begins April 7. It is not yet known whether Koo's Chinese counterpart, Wang Daohan (汪道涵), will also attend. Wang is in charge of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. Wang Gungwu said Beijing will likely wait until after next month's National People's Congress before deciding whether Wang Daohan should attend the Singapore commemoration. "It's nothing political," he said, describing the event, which will attract interna-tional experts to discuss cross-strait relations since 1993 and their future prospects. The 1992 Koo-Wang talks took place in Singapore.
■ Diplomacy
Envoy going to Seoul
DPP Secretary General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) will attend next week's inauguration celebration of South Korean president-elect Roh Moon-hyun. Chang told the media yesterday that he, along with legislators from across party lines, will leave next Monday to attend the ceremony on Tuesday. The government hopes to establish political connec-tions with Roh's administra-tion and improve relations with Seoul.
■ Aborigines
Tribal economy promoted
The Executive Yuan announced yesterday details of a NT$1.074 billion (US$30.8 million) plan to promote traditional Aboriginal industries. A Cabinet official said the project is designed to promote Aboriginal cultural, artifact, entertainment and tourist industries to stimulate the Aboriginal economy and develop their tribes' human resources.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it