Pro-Independence groups are planning on holding a mass rally and other events on Feb. 28, 2008, in order to allow the voice of Taiwan's people's to be heard through, while China will attract the world's attention by hosting Olympic Games that year.
At a forum held by Taiwan New Century Foundation yesterday to discuss how to raise a Taiwanese consciousness, the organizers came up with the idea of holding independence-themed events in 2008.
"We would like to call the event the `2008 Taiwan Justice and Peace Olympics.' While China is preparing to host the Olympic Games, Taiwan needs to mobilize for another kind of Olympics," said William Lo (羅榮光), former general-secretary of Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, and currently the secretary-general of Taiwan UN Alliance.
The group hopes to attract six million people, said Chen Yen-hui (陳延輝), a professor of politics in National Taiwan Normal University.
"We hope the whole country will take part," Chen said.
The event will include people holding hands and forming a human chain in the shape of a feather. Although feathers are light and pliable, they are also very strong, which is symbolizes the spirit of Taiwanese people, Chen said.
In order to achieve their goals, Chen and Lo said that the most important thing is to arouse the conscience of the Taiwanese people on a daily basis. Lo suggested that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) discard his "five no's" policy, as it discourages the people from pursuing independence.
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