■EMPLOYMENT
Funeral work more popular
In the past, most people tried to avoid working in the funeral business, but this has changed as people struggle to stay afloat in the current economic storm. The results of an open poll released yesterday by www.ejob.gov.tw, an employment service Web site run by the Council of Labor Affairs, showed that the funeral profession was the fifth most popular field out of 10 choices given to the respondents. The poll, which was launched on Feb. 1, drew 7,242 participants as of Thursday, 11.53 percent of whom indicated that they were interested in entering the funeral business. This was a more popular choice than the field of finance, which lost popularity after the global financial crisis began. In the poll, funeral services ranked fifth behind computer software and hardware development, which drew 18.02 percent of the vote. Second place was the restaurant and bakery business, with 16.64 percent, followed by child care services, with 15.21 percent and employment services, with 11.95 percent.
■TRAVEL
Visa fees for Thais waived
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday announced that it would waive the NT$1,600 visa application fee for all Thai passport holders when applying for a visa to Taiwan for the three months between March 5 and June 4, calling the waiver a reciprocal gesture. The courtesy was extended after Bangkok on Thursday announced that Taiwanese nationals would no longer have to pay a visa fee during the same period. MOFA said the privilege aimed to boost tourism between Thailand and Taiwan. Taiwan receives approximately 30,000 Thai tourists annually, while over 300,000 Taiwanese visit Thailand per year.
■POLITICS
Court annuls election result
The Taichung District Court yesterday annulled the election of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lien-fu (江連福) on vote-buying charges in the first civil suit brought by his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival Chien Chao-tung (簡肇棟). The verdict is not final and Chiang told reporters that he would appeal. Chien filed an annulment suit against Chiang last year on the grounds that he gave NT$50,000 to a Chien supporter. Chiang was also indicted on vote-buying charges in a criminal suit in January last year along with several others. Prosecutors sought a five-year sentence for Chiang, but the district court found him not guilty in May last year, saying that it was illegal for the DPP to collect vote-buying evidence against Chiang by videotaping him with a pinhole camera.
■POLITICS
DPP dismisses Chen son bid
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday dismissed a China Times Weekly magazine report that said former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) would run in a legislative election in Kaohsiung. Chen Chih-chung and his wife Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚) last week relocated their residence from Taipei City to Kaohsiung City. “I never heard anything like this,” DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday, adding that he thought Chen Chih-chung should prioritize the money-laundering case against him and his family. Echoing Ker’s remarks, DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said Chen Chih-chung should focus on his case. “If he really wants to run in legislative election, I will try to talk him out of it,” Wang said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
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