■ SOCIETY
Museum spruces up
In an effort to improve the landscape around the National Palace Museum, the Taipei City Government will decorate Ziqiang Tunnel (自強隧道) with plants and art pieces from the museum. The Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs said it would install a calligraphy piece on top of the tunnel and landscape its surroundings. Art pieces chosen from the museum will also be placed along the tunnel's walls. The city government will also improve the landscape in nearby Shuangxi Park (雙溪公園) and in local communities to improve the appearance of the area.
■ EDUCATION
Canada renews agreement
Canada, the first country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on academic exchanges with Taiwan, renewed the agreement yesterday, the Ministry of Education said. The agreement was renewed to facilitate student and teacher exchanges between the two countries, the education ministry's Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations announced in a press release yesterday. The first memorandum was signed in May 2004 and expired last month, it said.
■ MEDIA
Lee to address journalists
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) has been invited to address the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ) this weekend, FCCJ officials said yesterday. Lee will speak on Japan's foreign policy and then take questions from the media, the officials said. The event will replace an original plan by Lee to hold a news conference on Saturday, the same day he is scheduled to wrap up his 11-day visit and return to Taiwan. The FCCJ has more than 300 members.
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