■ Politics
Hsieh sets press conference
Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) is to hold a press conference today to name Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) president Wu Rong-i (吳榮義) as vice premier, according to a Central News Agency report last night. Wu, who was due to depart for Hawaii yesterday for a week-long APEC preparatory meeting, canceled his trip and is expected to show up at the press conference. Hsieh had earlier offered the job to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤) and said he would give Chiang until Feb. 17 to accept. Chiang has also served as chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development.
■ Politics
Aides to finalize meeting
Top aides of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) are scheduled to meet today to finalize details of the much-anticipated Chen-Soong meeting. Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Yu Shyi-kun will meet with PFP Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (秦金生) at the Taipei Guest House to hammer out the date, venue, format and agenda. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whip Lai Ching-teh (賴清德) said recently that the DPP hopes the meeting could contribute to the passage of major bills related to people's livelihoods, in addition to addressing cross-strait issues. Meanwhile, PFP whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) said that his party will stand firm during the Chen-Soong meeting on the issue of Taiwan's status. Liu said all topics, including cross-strait affairs, should be open to discussion during that meeting.
■ National Security
Taipei's defenses boosted
In a move to guard against a possible lightening attack by China on Taipei, the government is redeploying marines from central Taiwan, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense will move the marines, called Brigade 66, to Linkou starting next month, the report said. The deployment would be completed before July, the paper said. Brigade 66 is currently deployed at the Ching Chuan Kang Airbase in Taichung. The ministry has increased the number of military police in Taipei, and set up an artillery and an armored battalion near the Sungshan airport, the paper said. Media reports have said that China has drawn up a Decapitation Plan to attack Taiwan and take control of the island within five days.
■ Education
Pact inked for HK center
Buddhist Master Hsing Yun (星雲), founder of the Fo Guang Shan Foundation for Buddhist Culture and Education, signed a cooperation agreement yesterday with Daniel Law, dean of the Faculty of Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, at Fo Guang Shan Temple in Kaohsiung County. The foundation will help the university to set up a Buddhism research center. The cooperation begins next month and runs to February 2010, with the foundation providing HK$1.2 million (US$725,000) each year to help the university promote the study of Buddhism. Master Hsing Yun noted that the establishment of the center represents a big step forward in world cultural exchanges and a milestone in the study of Buddhism. Chuo Chun-ying (卓春英), deputy public affairs director at the Presidential Office, who is an alumna of the university, said it would be good if the foundation set up more such centers in schools around the world as a way to promote cultural exchanges.
■ Tsunami
MOFA organizes event
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will invite foreign ambassadors and envoys stationed in Taipei to pray for world peace in a traditional Taiwan folk activity tomorrow, a spokesman said Thursday. According to the MOFA official, foreign ambassadors and representatives, including those from various countries that were hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, will be invited to participate in the "sky lantern lighting" activity to be held tomorrow night in Pingsi township, Taipei County, to pray for world peace. Attending foreign diplomats will sign their names with calligraphy brushes on five huge lanterns that will be lit and allowed to rise into the sky, hot air balloon-style, in a gesture to appeal for world peace, the official said. The activity should help them gain a better understanding of Taiwan's traditions and lifestyles.
■ Society
Students face charges
Six college students, who staged a nude demonstration to protest the government's ignorance of the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol, may now face a charge of "offenses against morals" (妨害風化). To highlight their demonstration, the six students took off their underwear, leaving their private parts covered only by a piece of paper outside the Executive Yuan on Tuesday. However, police authorities have digitally recorded the nude protest, and have send the case to the Taiwan District Prosecutors' Office. Taipei District Prosecutors' Office Spokesman Lin Bang-liang (林邦樑) said if prosecutors consider the nude protest made people uncomfortable and disgusted, the students might be charged.
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
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
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