■ Foreign affairs
Swiss change Taiwan's name
The Swiss government reiterated on Thursday that its move to change Taiwan's designation on alien resident certificates it issues to Taiwan nationals residing in Switzerland is an "internal administrative measure. The measure is mainly aimed at unifying Taiwan's designation on the alien resident certificates issued by various Swiss state governments and has nothing to do with Taiwan's official title," said a spokesman for the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since Aug. 6, the nationality of ROC passport holders has been identified as "Chinese Taipei" on their residence certificates issued by Swiss authorities. Prior to that, the spokesman said, Taiwan's designation varied on those documents issued by various Swiss state governments. As Taiwan is designated as "Chinese Taipei" by the International Olympic Committee and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, the spokesman said, the Swiss federal government has ordered its state governments to use the same title on the alien resident certificates they issue to ROC nationals.
■ Diplomacy
Chen greets VIPs
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on Thursday received 265 foreign guests at the Presidential Office and accepted their congratulations on the Republic of China's National Day. The well-wishers included 65 members of congratulatory missions, 33 members of the diplomatic corps in Taipei, 67 representatives of other foreign missions in Taipei, 59 parliamentarians from various countries, and 35 foreign journalists. Among the dignitaries were Gambian President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, Malawian President Bakili Muluzi and American Institute in Taiwan Director Douglas Paal.
■ Charity
Help for Malawi urged
World Vision Taiwan (WVT) urged people Thursday to provide more help for poverty-stricken children in Malawi, which is in the grip of a famine. Chen Wei-chih, director of WVT's eastern office, said Malawi suffered serious flooding in 1992 and 1996 which led to the current famine. The charity launched a campaign in 1996 to help some 2,500 children in Malawi and in the last seven years, Taiwanese have helped construct schools and clinics in that country, as well as offering agricultural equipment and training. Noting that the average life expectancy in Malawi is 40.7 and the mortality of its children under the age of five is 18.8 percent, Chen urged people to demonstrate their love and make generous donations.
■ Society
Fewer flags displayed
Near 30 percent of the Aboriginal settlements in Taitung displayed the Republic of China (ROC) flag yesterday to celebrate the Double Ten National Day -- topping other ethnic groups. The Yung-an Amis settlement of Lu-yeh township in particular was awash with flags. Once Taiwan was a ocean of national flags on the national-day holiday, but this has become less common in recent years. Even on farmland owned and run by the Veteran Affairs Commission only a few flags could be seen yesterday. In Taitung, only a few government institutes and schools had hung the flag. Compared to other ethnic groups' lukewarm reaction to the national day, Taitung's Aboriginal areas saw a nearly 30 percent of residents hanging the ROC flag outside their houses.
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