■ Real Estate
Madame Chiang's home sold
The New York apartment of Taiwan's former first lady Soong Mayling (蔣宋美齡), popularly known as Madame Chiang, has been sold for US$10 million, a local newspaper said yesterday. The sale was confirmed by Kung Ling-yi (孔令儀), a niece of Madame Chiang, the United Evening News said. The ninth-floor apartment was owned by the family of Madame Chang's elder sister, Soong Ai-ling (宋譪玲). Madame Chiang died at the age of 105 last October. She had spent her last nine years in New York and is buried in Ferncliff cemetery outside the city. She was the widow of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), head of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and ruler of Nationalist China before and during the Second World War.
■ Diplomacy
Justice minister visits US
Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) left for Los Angeles yesterday to take part in the 2004 conference of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). Chen will give a speech at the "state dinner" of the annual meeting, in which attorneys general from the 50 states of the US will participate. Taiwan has for many years dispatched prosecutors to attend the important meeting and has invited NAAG members to visit in order to bolster mutual understanding and exchanges. While in the US, Chen will also meet overseas Chinese in other cities. He is slated to return to Taiwan on June 30.
■ Community
Filipinos observe national day
The Philippine community in Taiwan celebrated the 106th anniversary of the Republic of the Philippines at the Taiwan International Workers' Association (TIWA) headquarters in Taipei yesterday. "It means a lot to the migrant community to be able to celebrate their country's independence day in a foreign community. It is a good way for them to come together," said TIWA chairwoman Susan Chen. Although the Philippine independence day falls on June 12, this year's celebration was held a day late so that workers could enjoy it on their day off. This year's celebration was organized by the Taiwan chapter of the Overseas Foreign Workers' Club, Tamshui Filipino Community, Samahang Makata, Genuine Ilokano Taiwan Association, Kasapi and the Cordillera Organization in Taiwan.
■ Diplomacy
Overseas staffers nominated
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) yesterday revealed various possible nominees for the ministry's overseas posts, including representatives to the US and Japan. Chen said that both Joanne Chang (裘兆琳), a researcher at the Institute of European and American Studies under the Academia Sinica, and Stanley Kao (高碩泰), vice permanent representative to the World Trade Organization, will be appointed as new vice representatives to the US. Kao will travel with Taiwan's representative-designate David Lee (李大維) to Washington to take over their new offices, Chen added. He also revealed that there exists a great possibility that his predecessor Eugene Chien (簡又新) will be named as Taiwan's new representative to the EU to fill the post left vacant by Lee. Furthermore, he said that the appointment of Koh Se-kai (許世楷) as Taiwan's representative to Japan should present no problems and that Koh's deputy, Chen Hung-chi (陳鴻基), will travel with him to Tokyo to take over their new offices. Chen announced on May 18 that Koh, a professor at Providence University in Taichung County, would be Taiwan's new representative to Japan.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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