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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Weather
New typhoon nears
Typhoon Songda is spinning toward Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean and could lash the country this weekend, a forecaster said yesterday. If Songda sticks to its current course, its fringe could bring Taiwan heavy rain by Sunday, the Central Weather Bureau said. "There is a chance that it may hit Taiwan by Monday, but much still depends on the strength of atmospheric pressure in the north," the bureau said, adding that Songda might shift toward Japan if the high pressure system weakens. Songda was located in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000km east of Taiwan, with winds of 175km per hour, and was moving west at 22kph, the bureau said.

■ Tourism
China Air eyes Japan
China Airlines (CAL) has launched a month-long advertisement campaign on a busy Tokyo railway line as part of efforts to promote tourism in Japan, company officials said yesterday. Posters featuring CAL attendants and local tourist attractions have been placed inside an 11-carriage train on the Yamanote Line, which transports an average 3.6 million passengers per day, the officials said.
The advertisement ties in with a "Taiwan Theater" TV commercial produced by the Tourism Bureau that has been broadcast on TV networks in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Osaka, Sendai and Nagoya. The bureau and CAL have also planned an event for Sept. 3 and Sept. 4 at Tokyo's main station to promote "2004 -- Taiwan Tourism Year."
CAL operates 53 flights per week to Tokyo, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Hiroshima. The airline also provides one chartered flight per week between Taipei and Hokkaido and has since Aug. 1 offered charter services between Kaohsiung and several popular destinations in Japan.

■ Politics
New KMT faction forms
A new sub-group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators was launched yesterday to push for party reform. The group, called the Taiwan New Hope Link, has 15 members from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds. The average age of the members is 43 years. The group will first push for reforms to the KMT's nomination system for the legislative elections, group spokesman Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said. The group says the KMT's nomination system for legislators-at-large should also be more open to give more voice to the party's legislators.

■ Diplomacy
Aid for African allies
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will donate money to four diplomatic allies in Africa to help them combat locust swarms, the ministry said yesterday. It said that northwestern Africa has been plagued by locusts since mid-July and that it would donate US$515,000 to Senegal, Chad, Burkina Faso and Gambia to help them buy pesticides and take other preventive measures. The donation will convey the concern and friendship that Taiwan feels toward these countries, the ministry said. Meanwhile, under a scholarship set up to promote international exchanges that commenced in September, 37 students from Africa -- three from Burkina Faso, five from Sao Tome and Principe, six each from Malawi and Chad, seven from Gambia and 10 from Senegal -- will come to study in Taiwan. The students will receive up to NT$30,000 per month during their stay. The program is meant to firm diplomatic ties with African allies.

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