■ Diplomacy
Chen blasts Beijing
The international community has neglected Taiwan's call for peace and democracy and tolerated China's build-up of military strength, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday while giving a speech at a New Year gathering for foreign ambassadors. Chen said the Taiwanese government has offered an olive branch to Beijing on more than 40 occasions since 2000 in a bid to resume dialogue but has not yet received any positive response. Chen said the imbalance in arms strength would further threaten democracy in Taiwan and other democratic communities in the Asia Pacific region. The common security interests of Japan and the US in the Western Pacific would also be damaged. "As a leader elected via a democratic process, I cannot tolerate the worsening situation. We hope the international community will support Taiwan's bid to defend universal values such as democracy," Chen said.
■ Diplomacy
Diplomats to be promoted
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday the ministry is considering whether to promote some of the country's diplomats in order to boost their level of representation and confidence when conducting foreign affairs on behalf of the country. Huang said that the ministry is considering filling up a number of vacancies for minister counselors in the country's 25 foreign embassies in order to boost the profile of Taiwanese diplomats. The minister said that youth should not be considered a hindrance to a diplomatic career and the government wouldn't be stingy in giving out titles to young diplomats as ability matters more than age. Minister counselor is one level below that of ambassador.
■ Diplomacy
MOFA warns journalists
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged the local media to apply for legal press permits when covering news in Middle Eastern countries following the arrest of a local TV journalist for illegal press activities by Iranian police. The CTI TV journalist Chin Lin-chien (秦綾謙) was arrested by the Iranian police for illegal reporting. She joined a local tour group to conduct news gathering but was later detained by local police, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported yesterday. The journalist has already been released, the report said. MOFA spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) urged the public to be aware of the uniqueness of Muslim culture and pay attention to the local customs of Middle Eastern countries.
■ Society
Patient needs identifying
The Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital in Hualien called on the public yesterday to help identify a woman aged about 35 who has been in a coma in the hospital's intensive care unit for nearly a month. A spokesman for the hospital said the woman was found unconscious on a roadside on Jan. 12 and was rushed to the hospital, where she has remained in a coma and on an artificial respirator ever since. The woman was not carrying an ID card or any other form of identification. She measures 158cm in height and weighs 59kg. As her name is not known, the hospital refers to her as "patient No. 86." The spokesman said that judging from the woman's features, she might be from Vietnam or another Southeast Asian country. He urged members of the public who might know the woman to help identify her so that the hospital can notify her family.
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