■ Politics
Soong wins one-man race
James Soong (宋楚瑜) was re-elected head of the opposition People First Party, the party said yesterday. Soong garnered 36,273 votes, or 99.19 percent of the ballots received by post, said PFP spokesman Hsieh Kung-ping (謝公秉). The party has some 70,000 members in Taiwan and abroad. Soong, who is on vacation in the US, was unopposed in the party's second leadership election.
■ Economy
Still counting storm's cost
Agricultural losses resulting from havoc wreaked by Typhoon Haitang have risen to NT$4.02 billion (US$127.21 million), according to the latest estimate released yesterday by the Council of Agriculture. Crop losses amounted to NT$3.39 billion, with 45,179 hectares devastated. Livestock losses amounted to NT$26.97 million, with 197 pigs, 187,000 chickens, 92,000 ducks and 5,000 geese killed. Fishery losses amounted to NT$121.3 million and forestry losses amounted to NT$150.05 million. Losses as a result of damage to farmland and farming facilities totalled NT$235.98 million. Those of livestock facilities totalled NT$67.51 million and those of fishery facilities totalled NT$34.94 million. The agricultural sectors in the nine hardest-hit counties are entitled to cash relief and low-interest loans from the government, while those in Hsinchu, Yunlin and Chiayi counties and Taichung City are entitled to low-interest loans, council officials said.
■ Education
MOE does about-face on fees
The Ministry of Education (MOE), which gave permission on Thursday for 18 universities and colleges to increase their tuition fees this year, changed its mind abruptly yesterday by cutting the list to 10. A ministry spokesman said the change was made to comply with the new policy of Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) to maintain overall price stabilization after two major natural disasters struck the country, hurting people's livelihoods. The spokesman said Minister of Education Minister Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) had noted that the devastation caused by the June 12 flooding and by Typhoon Haitang this week brought considerable hardship to the people and that Tu did not wish to see tuition hikes add to inflation. The 10 schools given the green light to raise their fees are: National Chengchi University, National Chi Nan University, the National University of Kaohsiung, Chung Yuan Christian University, Feng Chia University, Taipei Medical University, Tatung University, Cardinal Tien College Of Nursing, Vanung University, and St. John's and St. Mary's Institute of Technology.
■ Foreign affairs
Support for Taiwan urged
In the face of China's rise and its regional and global ambitions, the US should continue to support Taiwan, said Randall Schriver, former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs on Thursday. Schriver made the statement while testifying at a hearing held by the congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in Washington. The retired official said that if Taiwan can maintain its democratic system, it can push China to move in a positive direction. The US should certainly interact with China, but it should continue its support for Taiwan at the same time, Schriver said. Meanwhile, Sino-US exchanges should be carried out under a framework with a clear vision, he stressed during his testimony.
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