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Taiwan News Quick Take

■TRANSPORT

All aboard for bikes, pets

Passengers will be allowed to carry pets and folding bicycles on trains from July 1, the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said yesterday. TRA officials said that to meet the needs of commuters and cyclists, the administration will make its trial system permanent and allow passengers to board trains with bicycles free of charge as long as they can be folded and carried in bags. Cyclists will be able to use non-reserved cars on local and express trains without charge, but will have to pay a delivery fee if using a reserved car, the officials said. In view of the growing popularity of pets, passengers will also be allowed to take dogs, cats, fish and rabbits on trains without charge provided they can be carried in boxes or cages no bigger than 40cm by 30cm by 26cm. Guide dogs are not subject to the regulations. Pet containers will have to be placed under seats throughout the journey.



■TRANSPORT

Airport offers free Internet

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport began offering free wireless Internet services inside its terminals last month, making it one of the few airports in the world to offer the service free of charge. The Civil Aeronautics Administration announced on Tuesday that Chunghwa Telecom had installed 42 routers in the airport’s first and second terminals. Passengers carrying laptops can surf online while waiting to board their flights. Those without laptops can access the Internet at desktop computer stations provided by the duty-free shops. In the past, the airport charged passengers NT$1 per minute for using the service, to be paid in advance.



■SOCIETY

Falun Gong refuse to budge

Falun Gong practitioners said yesterday they would not stay away from tourist sites despite official requests for them to leave. Authorities in Tainan City, known for its 17th century Dutch colonial structures, have urged Falun Gong followers to leave the sites, where they petition for China to end its persecution of the qigong practice, which it banned in 1999. Falun Gong practitioners have set up tables and hoisted banners outside Tainan’s Fort Provincia, which the city government said had scared away tourists. Taiwan Falun Dafa Society chairman Chang Ching-hsi (張清溪) said practitioners would not agree to stay away. “Freedom of speech is a basic human right,” Chang said. “We will not leave.” The city hopes large numbers of Chinese tourists will visit its historic sites starting next month following the agreement signed on June 13 to allow direct weekend cross-strait flights.



■SOCIETY

Hungary awards chemist

Former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) was awarded honorary membership in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in a ceremony on Tuesday at the academy in Budapest. It marked the first time that a scientist from Taiwan has received the honor, the Taipei Representative Office in Budapest said. Lee, born in Hsinchu on Nov. 19, 1936, has won many prestigious awards, including the 1986 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Speaking at the ceremony, Lee expressed his thanks for the honor and his happiness at returning to Hungary for a visit after 22 years. Lee said he hoped his trip would help boost technological exchanges between Taiwan and Hungary.


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