■ Society
Men urged to doff suits
A group of women's rights and environmental activists called yesterday for men to discard business suits in the summer in favor of casual shirts to reduce reliance on air conditioning. The activists, led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Shu-ying (黃淑英) urged the men to get stop wearing suits during summer to help save energy. Noting that air conditioning is the prime reason for surging power consumption in summer, Huang said that one degree higher on air conditioner thermostats nationwide in summer means the country could save 300 million kwhs -- the amount that Penghu residents use in an entire year. Wearing suits requires a temperature of between 22?C to 23?C to make an office or room comfortable in summer, Huang said, claiming that room temperatures could be raised if men wore less clothing.
SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
■ Cross-Strait Ties
20 feared dead in storm
At least 20 Chinese were feared dead after the Taiwanese boat they were being smuggled in went missing during foul weather, officials said yesterday. The missing boat -- the Hsin Lien Fa 23 -- was last seen Sunday drifting off Fukuichiao (富貴角) at Taiwan's northernmost tip, a coastguard official said. "Our information showed that more than 20 Chinese people were on the fishing boat which lost power at sea in bad weather," she said. According to the coast guard, the Chinese boarded the ship in Fujian Province earlier this week in an attempt to sneak to Taiwan. "The boat has been missing for several days and we fear it might have sunk. The chances for survival of those onboard are slim," the official added. However, Coast Guard Administration officials said yesterday that the boat's captain and a crewman were rescued by Chinese fishermen at sea and were being detained in Xiamen for questioning, the officials said.
■ Defense
MND denies drug allegations
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday denied a media report about widespread drug abuse in the military, claiming that the report is a far cry from the truth. In a press release, the ministry protested against the report and said that new conscripts that test positive for substance abuse are immediately subject to prosecution as a way to wipe out drugs in the military. Only seven out of the more than 5,100 new conscripts summoned to the Cheng Kung (成功) military base in Taichung County in the first six months of this year tested positive, the ministry said, noting that all of them were sent to law-enforcement authorities. The ministry claimed that the report has hurt the military's image.
■ Society
Hello Kitty talk starts brawl
A scuffle broke out late Thursday night between a group of Japanese tourists and locals at a restaurant in Wanhua (萬華), Taipei as result of language barriers and miscommunication. The group of seven Japanese were giggling and talking about the "Hello Kitty" magnets which have recently a stirred frenzy among fans and collectors in Taiwan. Thinking that the Japanese were laughing at them, a table of Taiwanese patrons next to them -- about 10 in all -- approached the group and somehow a fight started.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai