■ Politics
Lu warns Beijing on games
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday if Chinese leaders don't learn to control rowdy sports fans, athletes will feel threatened when they go to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Lu said it was regrettable that soccer fans rioted in Beijing after Japan beat China 3-1 on Saturday in the Asian Cup final. She said in a briefing with foreign reporters that Chinese leaders must learn to control angry mobs before the 2008 games. "Otherwise, athletes who are able to defeat China's athletes will feel threatened. This would be a serious problem," she said. Lu added that she hoped that the Olympics will benefit China.
■ Travel
Penghu-Macau flight set
The maiden international charter flight from Penghu will take off today for Macau, with all seats fully booked, a TransAsia Airways spokesman said yesterday. The round-trip flight will make Makung Airport the first airport on an outlying island that can host international charter flights. The airport will also then become the nation's fifth international airport. The Civil Aeronautic Administration (CAA) approved TransAsia Airways' application for operating three round-trip charter flights between Penghu and Macau this month. The airline spokesman said the inauguration of charter flight services will benefit Penghu residents intending to visit Macau or to travel to China because the direct flight takes only one hour.
■ Foreign Affairs
Errant diplomat suspended
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday officially suspended diplomat Chang Jia-hua (張家華) from his duties for inadvertently issuing a passport and other documents to Yeh Hsiu-chen (葉秀貞), the wife of fugitive murder suspect Andrew Wang (汪傳浦) last month. Meanwhile, the involvement of Lily Hsu (徐儷文), a diplomat at the UK representative office, will be further investigated by the Control Yuan. However, newly resigned Taiwan representative to the UK, Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂), was not on the list of administrative punishment released by MOFA yesterday. Wang, an arms dealer suspected of involvement in the corruption-tainted sale of the Lafayette-class frigates to Taipei in the 1990s, is wanted in connection with the death of navy Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓).
■ Health
Association warns of fraud
Some foreign workers have taken advantage of loopholes in the National Health Insurance system by selling medicines that were paid for by their insurance here, wasting medical resources, a private medical group alleged yesterday. Some retired people have also given away their medicines to their relatives and friends in China, according to Wu Ming-yen, secretary-general of the Non-governmental Hospital and Clinics Association. The National Health Insurance spends about NT$94 billion (US$2.76 billion) annually on medicines, but a large part of this is believed to go to waste. Wu said that some retired people, especially those residing in China, give away their medicines to relatives and friends in China.. Wu said he suspects some patients may fail to treat their illnesses and then seek medical treatment in China and claim reimbursements from the National Health Insurance.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai