■ Health
Flu vaccinations expanded
The Department of Health will expand targets for a government-funded flu vaccination program in light of the low vaccination rate this year, officials said yesterday. Starting tomorrow, the targets will be further expanded to cover all children up to three years old, adults aged 60 or over, people suffering from severe injuries or diseases, international airline crew members, hospital volunteer workers, community pharmacists, medical lab workers and school nurses, department officials said.
■ Environment
Kinmen bay to get facelift
The Executive Yuan has directed the Water Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs to clean up the Gouyu Bay area of Kinmen, after the military stopped handling waste ammunition there earlier this year. The project is part of government efforts to respond to calls from New Party Legislator Wu Cheng-dian (吳成典) and Kinmen residents to improve the bay's landscape, better manage the environment and protect the island's beach ecology. The beautification project will integrate the resources and expertise of different agencies and aims to create a better coastal environment that is favorable to leisure development on the offshore island, said an official. The agency mapped out a plan for the improvement project after the Ministry of National Defense called a halt to its practice of exploding waste ammunition in the bay on Aug. 3.
■ Health
Illegal pesticides rife
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) claimed yesterday that the market is swamped with contraband pesticides and urged law enforcement agencies to step up their crackdown on the chemicals in order to safeguard public health. Lai made the remarks at a news conference, where he displayed 20 kinds of contraband pesticide he had purchased in the past three days to highlight that they are readily available and that law enforcement is lax in this regard. Tsao Tien-min (曹天民), president of an association on sustainable crop management, noted that annual pesticide consumption totals around NT$5 billion (US$151.51 million) in Taiwan and estimated that one-third of that amount was contraband.
■ Politics
Recall motion set for Friday
The third recall motion against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will be put to a vote on Friday, the legislature's Procedure Committee decided yesterday. The pan-blue camp initiated the third recall after first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and three presidential aides were indicted on corruption in connection with Chen's handling of his "state affairs fund." The legislature will have a two-day conference to review the third recall, even though Chen has refused to submit a written rebuttal once again. Pan-blue lawmakers ignored a call by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳) to withdraw the latest motion. Tsai said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was embroiled in a similar scandal over the handling of his mayoral allowance fund. Meanwhile, a number of long-stalled bills, including the supplemental budget for partial funding of the purchase of three US major weapons, were again blocked from being put onto the legislative agenda.
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