The Department of Health is planning to visit Canada at the end of the month to evaluate the possibility of lifting the ban on Canadian beef, President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen, who hosted a delegation of Canadian parliamentarians and their families at the Presidential Office yesterday, told his guests that Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mao (侯勝茂) was scheduled to lead a delegation of experts to inspect Canadian beef quarantine and sanitary procedures at the end of the month.
The information obtained would serve as a reference to the department's evaluation of whether to reopen the local market to Canadian beef. Several Asian markets, including China, Japan and Taiwan, banned Canadian beef following a case of mad cow disease in Canada in May 2003.
Taiwan was the fifth-largest market for Canadian beef and the exports were worth C$20 million (NT$580 million) each year.
As Taiwan is Canada's seventh-largest source of tourists, Chen yesterday called on the Canadian government to offer visa-free travel to Taiwanese visitors.
Statistics show that an average of 100,000 Taiwanese tourists visit Canada each year. In addition, there are 15,000 Taiwanese students studying in Canada, a number that is growing by about 2,500 students per year.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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