■ Transportation
Suicide delays MRT service
An unidentified man repor-tedly committed suicide yesterday afternoon by jumping onto the rail of the MRT's Chungho line, according to the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. The incident caused a one-hour delay for trains between the Ding-Shi and Nan Shih Chiao stations, according to Chen Wen-fu (陳文福), direc-tor of corporation's public relations office. Normal operations resumed at 1:34pm, Chen said. Police are investigating the incident.
■ Politics
Key election dates set
The election of the next president and vice president will be formally announced on Nov. 12, Huang Shih-cheng (黃石城), chairman of the Central Election Commission, said yesterday at the Legislative Yuan. He said that the election will be held on March 20 next year and that the winners will be formally announced before March 26. Candidates will be able to register between Jan. 31 and Feb. 6. Nationwide TV presentations of platforms by the candidates will be held between Feb. 21 and March 19, he said. Citizens living abroad may apply for voter registration between Nov. 12 and Feb. 9, Huang
said.
■ Defense
Army holds live-fire drill
An army artillery unit held its annual live-fire drill yesterday, firing 60 artillery shells into the sea off Taichung County, the Ministry of National Defense said. "It's an annual practice to test the effectiveness of the mortars and other field guns," a ministry spokesman said. Weapons used included 8-inch and 155mm artillery pieces with a firing range of 8km, military officials said. Separately, authorities yesterday staged a large-scale air-raid drill in central Taiwan to test the local government and public preparation for any air attack or chemical offensive from China. More than 30,000 people from the government, military and police took part in the drill, conducted in eight cities and counties.
■ Overseas Chinese
Air force welcomes visitors
More than 5,000 overseas Chinese who returned to Taiwan for the Double Ten National Day celebrations visited the Air Force Academy in Kangshan township, Kaohsiung County yesterday. They were warmly greeted by faculty members and cadets. Air force Deputy Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant-General Feng Shih-kuang (馮世寬) said that he admired the visitors for their patriotism. "In past decades, whenever our country has encountered adversities and challenges, overseas Chinese have not hesitated to extend a helping hand by either donating funds or offering volunteer services to promote the nation's cause," he said. An exhibition was held at the academy about the nation's new generation of warplanes and weapons systems, including the Indigenous Defense Fighters, F-16s, Mirages, anti-submarine helicopters and missiles.
■ Diplomacy
Hsieh heads trip to Senegal
Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), officials of Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau and fishing-industry leaders are scheduled to visit Senegal's capital Dakar on Oct. 23 and 24. The fishing ports of Kaohsiung and Senegal established a "sister relationship" in 2001. The delegation members will meet with their counterparts in Senegal, the director of the harbor bureau said yesterday.
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
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
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