The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan yesterday called off the scheduled 100,000 person march scheduled for May 11 to avoid the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The joint national convener of the campaign and advisor to the president Ng Chiau-tong (
"The campaign to rectify the name of Taiwan is the path leading to Taiwan's sustainable development.
"However, because the nation is combating the spread of SARS, it is not a good time for the alliance to stage the march. Therefore we decided to postpone it," Ng told a press conference.
Presidential advisor Chen Lung-chih (
Meanwhile, the Association of Friends of Lee Teng-hui (
Association chairman and a national policy advisor Hwang Kun-hu (
As Taiwan prepares to launch the name ratification campaign, the state-run Central News Agency reported yesterday that a hacker's Web site in China said it would hack into Taiwan's official Web sites from 9am today to 8pm on May 11 in retaliation against the nation's pro-independence activities.
The statement by the Chinese hackers stated they would use the DDOS model to paralyze Taiwan's major official Web sites, including those of the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Mainland Affairs Council, and the Government Information Office.
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