■ Elections
DPP to hold poll again
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Feng-hsi (林豐喜), who is competing with former DPP vice chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) to become the party's candidate for Taichung County Commissioner yesterday said a telephone poll conducted in the second part of the primary race was unfair and asked the DPP to redo the survey. The DPP accepted Lin's demand and said it will commission a survey company to redo the poll this evening. The DPP originally planned to announce its candidate for Taichung County commissioner yesterday, as the telephone poll was done on Monday evening. According to the survey, Chiu came out on top and as such would have been selected as the candidate representing the DPP. But Lin suspects that one of the three survey companies falsified the results.
■ Trade
MOFA to push pact with US
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is trying to make contact with the US government and Congress, as well as industrial and commercial groups in the US, in the hope of opening formal negotiations on the issue of signing a free-trade agreement (FTA), a ministry official said yesterday. Victor Chin (秦日新), director-general of North American affairs, made the remarks one day after Senator John Rockefeller IV said in Taipei that he was willing to help Taiwan overcome difficulties in its efforts to sign an FTA with Washington. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) met the senator at the Presidential Office on Monday and urged the US to sign an FTA with Taiwan to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
■ Society
New Party official off to jail
The Taiwan High Court yesterday sentenced New Party Taipei City Councilor Li Ching-yuan (李慶元) to a six-month jail term and will suspend his civil rights for two years on charges of violating the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法). In 2000, Li published a book accusing President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) -- who was then running for the presidency -- of having an extra-marital affair with a lady. In March, 2000, Li and former New Party presidential candidate Li Ao (李敖), the incumbent independent legislator jointly held a press conference in Taipei City Council to publicize book co-authored by them entitled Chen Shui-bian's True Face.
■ Diplomacy
Ambassador sought
Taipei is looking for the right person to serve as ambassador to Nauru, now that Chinese diplomats on the South-Pacific island nation have officially announced the severing of diplomatic relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶隆) said yesterday. Speaking at a regular news briefing at the ministry's headquarters, Lu said that Chinese diplomats stationed in Nauru made the announcement Monday in retaliation for Nauru's decision to switch its formal recognition from Beijing to Taipei on May 14. However, the Taiwanese ambassador has yet to be named, he added. According to Lu, Nauru's case is a clear indication that Beijing has been sparing no efforts to crowd out Taiwan in the international community, and the main purpose of Beijing's establishment of diplomatic ties with other countries is simply aimed at isolating Taiwan.
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
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
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