■ Society
Prisons to get LCD TVs
The government plans to install flat screen television sets in more than 10,000 prison cells -- but only educational programs will be aired, a Ministry of Justice official said yesterday. The NT$100 million (US$2.96 million) project is aimed at broadening inmates' knowledge and will also cut back on the millions of dollars they spend annually on batteries for their own portable sets, the official said. The project will be financed by a NT$3.4 billion fund accumulated through factory work by inmates, he said. Officials said the more expensive flat screen liquid crystal panels had been chosen because the glass screens of conventional sets were easy to break and could be used by prisoners to hurt themselves. They said the project would also help the environment by cutting down on battery use. The country's 57,000 prisoners spend some NT$70 million a year on batteries, the official said.
■ Aquaculture
Regional seminar held
An international seminar on aquaculture began in Taipei on Monday, with representatives from 10 Asia-Pacific countries discussing possible means for achieving sustainable aquaculture development. The five-day seminar was organized jointly by the Council of Agriculture (COA) and the Asian Productivity Organization. Quoting statistics compiled by the US Food and Agriculture Organization, COA officials noted that Asia's aquaculture industry has enjoyed brilliant growth in the past, with its production in 2001 accounting for 90.8 percent of the global figure. However, the industry was seriously affected by some problems in recent years, such as environmental pollution, the officials said. The seminar will help countries in the Asia-Pacific to exchange their experience with aquaculture, the officials said.
■ Education
Fewer students going abroad
The number of Taiwanese studying overseas dropped by 22.1 percent last year compared with the previous year, the Directorate Generate of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Monday. The DGBAS made the calculation based on the 26,318 visas issued by foreign missions in Taiwan for students wishing to study abroad last year. The US was the most popular destination with 10,324 visas, followed by 6,662 to the UK and 2,823 to Australia. The three countries attracted about 75 percent of Taiwanese students. The number of Taiwanese students going to France and Germany rose by 18.5 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively. The statistics also showed that there were 7,844 foreign students in Taiwan last year, of which 1,568 were studying for degrees and 6,276 were studying Mandarin, up 22.2 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.
■ Infrastructure
Formosa Freeway pondered
The nation's second north-south freeway in western Taiwan, the No. 3 freeway, may be named the Formosa Freeway, pending the Executive Yuan's final decision tomorrow. After three months' competition and review, a panel of judges picked three names for the consideration of Premier Yu Shyi-kun. They are, in order of the number of votes received: Formosa, Jade Mountain and Hope. The NT$458 billion (US$13.47 billion) freeway is 432km long and connects Keelung to Linpian in the south. There are 68 interchanges and 11 toll stations along the freeway. The nation's other two traffic arteries are the No. 1 freeway, better known as the Chungshan Freeway, and the Western Coastal Expressway.
■ Tourism
Hualien-Macau flights start
TransAsia Airways made its maiden charter flight from Hualien to Macau yesterday as part of an effort to help boost the local tourist industry. Among the passengers were Hualien County Commissioner Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山) and several other county officials. Hsieh said he was heading a team of officials and business executives to attract Macanese investors and holidaymakers to Hualien. "We hope the visit can not only help us realize the goal of doubling tourist arrivals but also attract Macau businesses to invest in Hualien County to accelerate our economic development and create more jobs," Hsieh said, adding that the county government is determined to make Hualien one of the most popular recreational resorts in the West Pacific. TransAsia will operate a total of three round-trip Hualien-Macau charter flights.
■ Crime
Chopper thieves nabbed
Seven Taiwanese citizens arrested for stealing a Harley-Davidson in Tokyo are believed to be behind a series of thefts of big US motorcycles which are dismantled and sent abroad, Japanese police and press reports said yesterday. Lee Chih-hsiang, 28, and six accomplices were arrested on Sunday for stealing a 1,450cc Harley-Davidson from a street in downtown Tokyo and hiding it in a suburban workshop, police said. Police have since tracked down the group to their hideout in Kumagaya, north of Tokyo, a police official said. The Yomiuri Shimbum said police suspect the group was largely responsible for the disappearance of more than 100 Harley-Davidsons this year in Tokyo. The group was believed to have dismantled stolen bikes and shipped them to Taiwan.
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