■SOCIETY
Eight missing at sea
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last night that eight Taiwanese with an aquaculture company operating in Madagascar had gone missing at sea. Ministry Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said the eight individuals had been missing since 3pm on Friday, when one team member, Liu Shou-chi (劉守智), called his brother in Taiwan for help. Communication was cut off before the brother could make further inquiries on their status. Chen said the ministry had dispatched its personnel stationed in South Africa to Madagascar to work with its navy in locating the missing individuals.
■AGRICULTURE
Yunlin chief visits Beijing
Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) left for Beijing yesterday to promote agricultural produce and other products from the southern county. Su, leading a delegation of county officials, farmers, aquaculturists and fruit growers, said she hoped to set up a foothold in Beijing for the county’s products during the eight-day visit. Su is the first Democratic Progressive Party local government mayor or commissioner to travel to China for bilateral exchanges. “As the head of an agricultural county, this is not a personal trip, but one for the benefit of the county’s development,” she said. Su said she hopes to consult with Chinese customs officials to facilitate customs clearance for the county’s agricultural and seafood products to ensure they reach the shelves while they are still fresh.
■DIPLOMACY
Wu to return to NCCU
Taiwan’s representative to the US, Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), yesterday confirmed that he will be returning to his research position at National Chengchi University (NCCU) beginning next month. Wu’s position was the subject of much speculation as many thought he would not be allowed to return to NCCU, possibly because of political pressure. Wu is a staunch Taiwanese independence supporter who was a major player in the former Democratic Progressive Party administration. He will be returning as a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at NCCU. Wu was originally scheduled to return to Taiwan on July 26, but he will step down and return to Taiwan one week later than scheduled to host four visiting legislative delegations at the end of this month, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US said on Friday.
■TOURISM
Visitors to Vietnam warned
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese nationals traveling to Vietnam to pay attention to their safety, after seven Taiwanese were robbed in Ho Chi Minh City in the first six months of this year. MOFA officials said Vietnamese criminals had targeted foreigners in recent months, often riding motorcycles and grabbing the bags of their victims from behind. The officials said that with Taiwan’s businesspeople investing in Vietnam and an increasing number of marriages between Vietnamese women and Taiwanese men in recent years, exchanges of visitors between the countries have also increased rapidly. The number of Taiwanese people traveling to Vietnam increased to 272,000 last year from 225,000 in 2002, Tourism Bureau figures showed.
■DIPLOMACY
Ma seeks new UN plan
The nation is considering a new approach for its bid to join the UN, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday. Ma said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been instructed to come up with a new approach before the UN General Assembly gathers in New York for its annual meeting in September.
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