President Chen Shui-bian (
"We are very honored that Taiwan could, in advance, provide related information to Japan and the United States, to later further confirm," he said as he received Reijiro Hattori, the director of Japan's Interchange Association, at the Presidential Office.
The association is Japan's de facto embassy in Taiwan.
The submarine briefly entered Japanese territorial waters last Wednesday off Okinawa without identifying itself.
Tokyo deployed reconnaissance aircraft and naval destroyers to shadow the submarine, which had spent about two hours inside Japanese waters before heading north.
Beijing initially refused to accept a protest or make an apology. On Tuesday, China apologized for the intrusion, citing technical mistakes.
"We believe Japan can feel the sense of threat from China just as Taiwan does," Chen said. "This shows Japan, the US and Taiwan share same interests in safeguarding the security of the Asia-Pacific region."
Chen told Hattori that he was delighted the the Japanese government was planning to relax its visa regulations on Taiwanese visitors for the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, which begins March 25.
He said he hoped Japan would continue its less-restrictive visa policy even after the exposition ends. At present Japan only provides three-day landing visas to Taiwanese visitors.
Chen also received Kiwanis International president Case Van Kleef, who is in town to inspect the preparations for the Kiwanis International's 2006 Asia-Pacific conference to be held here.
Chen congratulated the Tai-wan chapter of Kiwanis International, which has changed its official title. The chapter was originally named the "Republic of China District of Kiwanis International." Last year it applied to change its title to "Taiwan District of Kiwanis International" and the Kiwanis International headquarters in the US gave its approval.
Chen told Kleef that the government will give all necessary assistance to the Taiwan Kiwanis chapter to help it organize the 2006 conference and added that he will attend the event as well.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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