Due to tension over the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Presidential Office yesterday announced the postponement of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) visit later this month to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Central America.
"Considering the need to stop the spread of the SARS as soon as possible, secure public order and stop the economic rot, President Chen has decided to stay in the country and postpone his scheduled foreign trip until the situation is under control," said James Huang (
Huang said that the president originally planned to visit Costa Rica, Belize, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic between May 29 and June 11. Chen and his delegation also arranged to make transit stops in New York and Alaska, where he was due to meet US congressmen and other politicians.
Chen was also set to receive an award from the International League for Human Rights (ILHR), a human-rights organization in New York.
"The top priority is to combat the SARS virus," Huang said.
Huang said that the countries on Chen's itinerary understand the situation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will rearrange the trip for after the end of the Legislative Yuan's current session.
Meanwhile, Chen also urged the public to dwell on its responsibility as part of a democratic country, saying that some people have twisted the real meaning of democracy over the past weeks.
"[We need to comply with] basic principles of self-discipline and show respect to the rights of others," Chen said during his weekly televised broadcast yesterday.
Chen said that a university professor sent him an e-mail, which revealed that many people have not been treating the crisis in the way they should be.
"The professor said that some people would rather neither support nor believe anything. All they know to do is to ask those in authority to shoulder the responsibility when they become a victim of circumstance," Chen said.
"The professor said that this phenomenon reflects a collective mentality characterized by arrogance and an abuse of the spirit of democracy," the president said.
"And he also mentioned that media reports have had a negative effect on the country," Chen said.
"Those phenomena show that the media and the public need to take a long hard look at themselves," Chen said.
Chen said that the nation would emerge from the crisis if everybody can pull together.
"Someone told me recently that Taiwan has already conquered malaria and cholera during its most difficult eras with inadequate medical resources," the president said. "Therefore, we should have faith about our ability to meet the challenge again because now the country has everything it needs."
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