■ Diplomacy
Panama works on FTA
Panama and Taiwan agreed here Saturday on key areas of a draft free trade agreement, an official said.Panama Trade Minister Meliton Arrocha and Taiwan vice economics minister Chen Ruey-long led talks on customs procedures, investment protection and rules on identifying the origin of goods. It was the third round of discussions. A fourth round of talks is to be held May 18 in Taipei to discuss market access and a list of products to be covered by the agreement. Panama is the only country in talks with Taiwan for a bilateral free-trade pact. The two sides held the first and second rounds of talks in October last year and this January, hoping an accord could be signed by the end of this year.
■ Media
US paper supports WHO bid
A major US newspaper called on China to recognize the threat of contagious diseases and stop blocking Taiwan's bid to join the WHO. In an editorial headlined "China Needs to Recognize Global Health Threat" in its Saturday issue, the Houston Chronicle said China has attempted to hide the truth about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which is suspected to have originated from Guangdong Province. The article also said that China needs to stop opposing Taiwan's bid to enter the international organization, citing that Taiwan's exclusion from the global healthcare network poses a threat to the health of the entire world. With a circulation of over 550,000, the Houston Chronicle is the sixth largest newspaper in the US and the largest in the southern US.
■ Transportation
Tainan airport shut for a day
Tainan's airport was closed for all of Saturday after a TransAsia Airways plane hit an engineering truck on Friday night. The accident occurred on the runway while the plane was attempting to land. None of the plane's 100-plus passengers was injured, but the plane's fuselage was seriously damaged. The airport's flight schedules were normal yesterday except for the first flight, which was slightly delayed. TransAsia officials said the airport's control tower had cleared the plane for landing, adding that they do not rule out seeking compensation from the airport's authorities. The company's Tainan flight schedules will remain unchanged, the officials said.
■ Resources
Firms compete for contract
At least three local companies are competing for a natural gas supply contract worth NT$400 billion (US$11.52 billion) to be offered by the state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), it was reported yesterday. All interested bidders are required to tender their bids by today on Taipower's Tatan Project, which is aiming to build a thermal power plant in Taoyuan County with 4,000 megawatts of capacity, a local Chinese-language newspaper said. Among the three competitors is the state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp. The winner will be required to supply 1.68 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas for 25 years, beginning from 2009. Separately, Taipower is inviting Alstom, Mitsubishi, Siemens and General Electric to bid for the supply of the power plant's equipment. With eight generators, the power plant is estimated to cost Taipower around NT$80 billion.
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