Amid reports that China would locate a “Taiwan pavilion” at next year’s World Expo in Shanghai within the section for Chinese pavilions, the Taipei City Government yesterday said it was not part of the planning for that pavilion, while two Taipei pavilions would not be located within the Chinese section.
The city government, which has been invited to set up two exhibits showcasing its citywide wireless network and garbage-recycling scheme at the World Expo 2010, said that it had not participated in planning the Taiwan pavilion and that the city’s two exhibits would be located in the Urban Practices Area.
City government spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung (羊曉東) said a Taiwan pavilion had been proposed by Taiwanese businessmen in China to promote culture and other aspects of Taiwan.
The content of the display and location remain uncertain, he said, but Taipei’s pavilions will be placed alongside exhibits of other cities from around the world.
Shanghai City Government Deputy Secretary-General Hong Hao (洪浩) on Saturday declined to confirm whether organizers would put the Taiwan pavilion in the Asia Area, saying the location of the Taiwan pavilion had not been determined.
The city’s proposal to turn Taipei into a wireless city and promote recycling drew the attention of the World Expo 2010 committee during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) term as Taipei mayor.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) visited Shanghai in June for the signing of an agreement for the expo between representatives of the two cities.
In addition to the two Taipei pavilions and the Taiwan pavilion, the Taiwan-based Aurora Group will set up a corporate pavilion with the theme “Chinese Jade Culture.”
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
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai