■ POLITICS
Legislators being watched
A nongovernmental legislative watchdog said yesterday it would release assessments of lawmakers next month. Citizen Congress Watch chairman Ku Chung-hua (顧忠華) said the group would rate the performance of all 113 lawmakers during the body’s first session following the January legislative elections, which began in February and should have ended in May, but was extended to July 18. Ku said eight assessment panels would analyze the performance of legislators in the eight legislative committees. The panels will include academics, media workers and members of other civic groups, he said. The assessments should be released by Sept. 15, he said.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Foreign bird causing trouble
The white-rumped shama, or Copsychus malabaricus, a non-indigenous species, is invading forests countrywide and posing a threat to the survival of native species, the Endemic Species Research Institute said on Tuesday. The bird is a thrush that originates in South Asia and is found from India to southwestern China and Malaysia. Known for its beautiful song and ability to mimic the sounds of other birds, it was introduced to Taiwan as a pet. The institute said it had recorded increasing numbers of the thrush in low-altitude forests over the past few years. The species, which quickly adapts to new environments, is breeding in significant numbers across the country, the researchers said. Researchers said they had observed the thrush feeding on a wide variety of arthropods, earthworms, frogs and lizards, which poses a threat to these species and to other birds competing for those food sources.
■ CULTURE
Singer cries plagiarism
A singer accused Indian filmmakers of plagiarizing his music and is seeking NT$10 million (US$320,000) in damages, his agent said yesterday. Wang Leehom (王力宏), 33, a US-born singer popular especially in Southeast Asia, is seeking compensation from Tips Films, distributor of the Hindi film Race, which was released in March, Sony BMG Music Entertainment Ltd said. Sony BMG said it reserved the right to take legal action against the film’s distributor for plagiarism. “The lead song in Race, Zara Zara Touch Me, resembles Wang’s Deep in the Bamboo Grove,” Sony BMG said in a statement. “Its rhythm and tempo are similar to that of Deep in the Bamboo Grove. The similarity is nearly 100 percent.” Wang’s song is from the album The Sun and Moon in My Heart, released in December 2004.
■ EMPLOYMENT
CLA reviews minimum wage
The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) will hold a screening committee meeting at the end of this month to discuss whether to raise the minimum wage, CLA Deputy Minister Pan Shih-wei (潘世偉) said yesterday. The conclusions of the committee will be sent to the Executive Yuan for a final decision, Pan said. The minimum monthly wage was raised to NT$17,280 (US$566) from NT$15,840 on July 1 last year, benefiting an estimated 1.4 million of the nation’s 8.8 million workers — including foreign workers and part-time workers. Because of rising commodity prices, labor groups have appealed to the CLA for an increase in the minimum wage. But as labor insurance and health insurance premiums are calculated based on the minimum wage, the CLA has expressed worries that raising the figure would result in an extra burden on lower class workers.
■ SCIENCE
Bats star in science show
A bat exhibition promoting life technology concepts through biology, the arts and technology opened at Taipei Zoo’s education center yesterday. The exhibition, organized by the National Science Council, the Tainan National University of the Arts and the Taipei Zoo, is part of the council’s Science Season activities this year. The council said the bat was chosen as the subject of this year’s exhibition featuring “life and the sciences” because it is the only mammal that can fly. The exhibit runs until Dec. 7.
■ ACTIVITIES
Woodcarving show to open
The Miaoli County Government will hold its annual Sanyi International Woodcarving Art Festival starting on Saturday. Founded in 1990, the festival celebrates the popular art form in the county’s Sanyi Township (三義). It will feature exhibitions of woodcarvings from around the world, including Europe and the Americas. Other activities include woodcarving and ice sculpture, Hakka cuisine and dance performances, the organizer said.
■ LEISURE
See birds, crabs at Kenting
August is a good time to bring kids to view barn swallows and land crabs at the Kenting National Park, the park’s administration office said yesterday. The sight of hundreds of swallows perching on telephone cables and crabs crossing the road to spawn on the seashore provides children with a great opportunity to learn about the natural environment, it said. Hengchun (恆春) is one of the two main places barn swallows use as a resting place during their migration in and out of Taiwan, Tsai said. Land crabs making their way down to the sea to lay their eggs is another spectacular scene, it said.
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