■ Military Affairs
Air force jet explodes
An air force fighter jet skidded off the runway and exploded in Taitung County yesterday, according to officials at the Taitung air force base. The jet's two pilots survived the accident by ejecting before the explosion. The two-seat F5F fighter jet was preparing for takeoff on a routine training mission when engine failure occurred at 7:30am, the officials said. This caused the aircraft to skid off the runway, triggering an explosion in the fuel tank, they said. The fire was extinguished within 10 minutes. The officials said all training programs have been suspended pending a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
■ Health
New rules announced
The Department of Health yesterday announced that clinical studies will now be compulsory for students and practitioners of Chinese medicine. "Although Chinese medicine is an integral part of our healthcare system, we need a rigorous clinical-training program for students and doctors to enhance their diagnostic and treatment skills," said Lin I-hsin (林宜信), chairperson of the department's Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy. There are 36 hospitals and 2,729 private clinics offering Chinese-medicine services staffed by a total of 4,266 licensed doctors. The department said all students must spend their last year training in hospitals. It will also be mandatory for practitioners to spend at least 30 hours every year on clinical studies. Practitioners who
do not comply will be disqualified from treating patients. "We now have 22 regional hospitals involved in the education program. The Chinese-medicine system is becoming increasingly systematic. We believe that by 2008 Taiwan will be a world model for incorporating alternative medicine into health infrastructure," Lin said.
■ Diplomacy
Panamanian people on side
More than six out of 10 Panamanians hope that their country maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, according to the results of a poll published on Wednesday by a newspaper in that country. The poll results posted on La Prensa under the title "Taiwan is better than the People's Republic of China" showed that 61 percent of respondents were in favor of maintaining diplomatic ties, while 14.1 percent preferred to switch to Beijing. Another 24.9 percent had no opinion on the matter. The survey, which was commissioned by the paper, was conducted between Jan. 14 and Jan. 16.
■ Diplomacy
Lu sells `Taiwan experience'
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said she would help Paraguay learn from the "Taiwan experience" in promoting economic development in the South American nation. Lu made the comments during a meeting with visiting Paraguayan Senate Speaker Miguel Carrizosa Galiano. Lu said she was actively promoting town-building projects in Central American countries to facilitate bilateral cooperation in agriculture, aquaculture and energy infrastructure development. Lu said she would encourage Taiwanese businesses to invest in the food and textile industries in Paraguay -- where agricultural products include soybeans, corn and cotton -- to boost employment and the economic output of Taiwan's diplomatic ally. Lu said that the friendship between Taiwan and Paraguay has remained firm over the years and that she hoped both sides would strengthen bilateral cultural and economic exchanges in the future.
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