■ EARTHQUAKES
Quake off Ilan County
A 5.3-magnitude temblor struck off the east coast of Ilan County early yesterday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The quake hit at 3:41am and was centered 99km southeast of Suao, the USGS said. It struck at a depth of 10km.
■EVENTS
Michael Nobel in Taiwan
Michael Nobel, a great grand nephew of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize awards, will come to Taiwan to take part in a forum on energy-saving awareness and carbon dioxide-reducing initiatives. Nobel, who will deliver a speech during the forum tomorrow at the Grand Hotel in Taipei, is expected to share his perspectives on building energy-management platforms for higher energy efficiency and developing alternative energies, said the Taiwan Architecture and Building Center, one of the two sponsors of the forum. The 68-year-old Nobel, a citizen of Sweden and Switzerland, has international scientific and commercial experience in fields such as life sciences, satellite communications, Internet services for finances and investment, information management and crisis management. He participated in the introduction of magnetic resonance imaging at Fonar Corp in 1980 and has since maintained his interest in the field. He is also a chief executive officer of a group of companies that perform diagnostic imaging services. In addition, he is on the board of 12 international companies in diagnostics, treatment, investments and information systems in the medical field.
■SOCIETY
Make your wedding legal
Couples were urged yesterday to register to make their marriage legal under new marriage regulations that will come into force later this month. Under an amendment to the Civil Code taking effect on May 23, marriages will only be legal after the newlyweds register with local household registration offices, said Yang Yi-teh (楊義德), director of the Taipei County Bureau of Civil Affairs. In other words, Yang said, a marriage will not be considered legal if one partner fails to register with the authorities for any reason, even if they were married in a public wedding or at a ceremony witnessed by a judge or a notary. Yang said couples should register their marriages before the wedding ceremony takes place. Registrations can be made via telephone, the Internet or in writing.
■DEFENSE
Nation ready to buy F-16s
Taiwan is ready to buy 60 F-16C/D aircraft from the US and will pass the budget for the purchase as soon as Washington approves the sale, a lawmaker said yesterday. Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), a member of the legislature’s Diplomacy and National Defense Committee, made the remarks in response to a report by the Chinese-language China Times that said a US official would visit later this month to persuade president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to approve the purchase. Lin said the newspaper was wrong as the legislature had already passed the budget, but later froze it “to save face” because the US kept delaying the sale. “So as soon as the US approves the sale, we will un-freeze the budget. This has nothing to do with whether Ma approves or disapproves the purchase,” he said. “Actually, with the exception of the eight submarines, the legislature has approved the budget for the other major arms purchases from the US,” he said. Taiwan is seeking to buy 12 P-3C marine patrol, eight diesel-electric submarines, six PAC-III anti-missile batteries and 60 F-16s.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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