■ DIPLOMACY
China-Africa summit
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it was closely monitoring the progress of a summit between China and west African states to be held in Beijing next month. Two of Taiwan's four African allies have been invited to the summit from March 25 to March 28, but neither Burkina Faso nor Gambia has decided whether to attend, said Liu Bang-zyh (劉邦治), deputy director of the ministry's Department of African Affairs. The meeting next month will be the first summit between Beijing and the 15-member Economic Community of West African States. Liu said although the conference would focus on economic affairs, Taiwan would neither encourage nor deter its allies from sending non-political officials but will keep a close eye on the event. Burkina Faso Ambassador to Taiwan Jacques Sawadogo and Gambian Ambassador Mawdor Juwara were not available for comment at press time.
■ TECHNOLOGY
S Africa, Taiwan cooperate
Technology diplomacy entered a new phase on Monday after the National Applied Research Laboratories' (NARL) National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) inked an agreement with South Africa's Center of High-Performance Computing (CHPC) to share resources in high-performance computing, technology research and development and talent. The signing ceremony was held at NARL headquarters in Taipei, with NARL president Joe Juang (莊哲男) and Liaison Office of the Republic of South Africa Representative Petrus Meyer in attendance. NCHC director Eugene Yeh (葉俊雄) and CHPC director Happy Sithole said the project's top priority would be to develop a virtual environment in which a concrete model for the construction of a high-performance computing network in South Africa can be simulated. Sithole said he was interested in learning about the NCHC operational model in Taiwan to build a similar computing network in South Africa.
■ China trade
Chen backs Hsieh's plan
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday voiced his support for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) proposal to grant amnesty to Taiwanese businesspeople who had defied a government ban on investing in China. "It is an old measure that was implemented in 1993, 1997 and 2002," he said. "It is not a brand new policy and has nothing to do with the election. We don't need to wait after the election to do what we can do today." As long as China-based Taiwanese businesspeople are willing to return home to invest, Chen said the government could be more lenient and more flexible in setting new regulations.
■ fisheries
Conservation plan launched
Owners of fishing boats in Kaohsiung will receive subsidies to encourage them not to fish as part of a new plan to conserve fisheries, the city government's Marine Bureau announced yesterday. With fuel prices rising and fishery resources declining because of overfishing and the effects of a cold spell on the marine ecology, it might not make sense for fishing boats to remain fully operational throughout the year, the bureau said. Owners of licensed fishing boats may apply to the local fishermen's association between May 1 and Oct. 31 to receive NT$8,000 per sampan, NT$10,000 per fishing raft and up to NT$100,000 per fishing boat, depending on the vessel's tonnage.
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