■ TRANSPORT
Passenger sues over pets
A passenger has filed an administrative lawsuit against the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) because it allows people to bring pets on trains. The administration has been ordered to present an official response within 10 days, TRA Deputy Director-General Chang Ying-huei (張應輝) said yesterday. Chang said this was the first lawsuit to be brought against the TRA because of one of its policies. Court documents show the passenger claims that the implementation of the policy infringes on his rights as a passenger, Chang said. The TRA has been allowing passengers to board trains with their pets since July 1 in response to a request from the legislature. Before its implementation, the administration had said it would evaluate the policy for three months. The administration has conducted two surveys among passengers, in both of which passengers opposing the policy outnumbered those supporting it.
■CULTURE
Bands head to Tainan County
The 15th Asia-Pacific Band Music Festival opens in Tainan County on Saturday, with bands from 27 countries and 152 local groups scheduled to perform during the week-long event. Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) said the festival would be the biggest to date, with more than 10,000 band members expected to attend. Su said the festival presented a great opportunity for local band enthusiasts to learn from some of the world’s best performers. The opening day of the festival will feature a band music parade in the neighborhood of the Nan-Ying Green Heart Esplanade Park, the organizers said. The festival is being organized by the Tainan County Government and the Taiwan Band Association. More information is available on the Tainan County Government Cultural Affairs Bureau’s Web site at www.tnc.gov.tw/apbda.
■POLITICS
Poll shows support for bears
A government survey yesterday showed that 56 percent of respondents are in favor of bringing pandas from China to Taiwan, and that almost 31 percent consider the end of the year to be the best time for the animals’ arrival. The survey, conducted by the Cabinet’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, sampled 977 people aged 20 or older. A hundred people refused to answer questions in the survey. The results showed that 60 percent of respondents said pandas would help boost the nation’s tourism industry, while 47 percent said the pandas would facilitate cross-strait reconciliation. Sixty-two percent of those interviewed said that hosting the pandas would increase public knowledge of animal protection, and 54 percent said local zoos would be capable of taking care of the animals.
■SOCIETY
Jolin to host fundraiser
Singer Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) will host a fundraising event for worldwide famine relief in Taipei on Aug. 16, a local charity organization said. The campaign, sponsored by World Vision Taiwan, will be held at National Taiwan University. Tsai also acts as a spokeswoman for the campaign. World Vision, an international Christian relief and development organization, hopes to raise NT$150 million (US$4.9 million) at the fundraiser to promote its cause. Some of the proceeds will be allocated to assist children of HIV/AIDS sufferers, children and families affected by war, disadvantaged Taiwanese families and typhoon victims, the organizers said. More information is available on the charity’s Web site, www.worldvision.org.tw.
■ DIPLOMACY
No confirmation on envoys
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will consult the governments of Singapore and Japan regarding the appointment of new representatives as a matter of protocol and would make a formal announcement, probably by the end of this month. “Given the fact that nations such as the United States, Japan and Singapore are ‘indicator countries,’ it is a diplomatic norm for us to notify and consult with these countries before deploying representatives,” ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said yesterday. He would not confirm reports that former National Security Bureau director Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐) has been chosen as the new representative to Singapore and former National Security Council adviser Yang Jung-ming (楊永明) would be sent to Japan. He said the foreign minister would evaluate the other diplomatic vacancies, such as posts in Europe, based on the interest and competence of the candidates.
■TRANSPORT
Gondola to get timed tickets
The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) announced yesterday that it will introduce a timed ticket system on weekends for the Maokong Gondola next month to reduce the long lines of people waiting to ride the cable cars. TRTC vice president Zhao Hsiung-fei (趙雄飛) said starting on Aug. 2 people would be able to go to two locations to draw tickets giving them the time slots for their rides: one will be at the entrance to the Taipei Zoo MRT station while the other would be the ticket window of the gondola’s Taipei Zoo stop. The TRTC would also install two monitors at the gondola’s Taipei Zoo Station to provide information about time slots, he said. The cable car system has carried more than 5.2 million passengers since it opened on July 4 last year.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard