■ ECONOMY
Worst is over: Chiu
The country has gone through the toughest period of the recession, based on quarter-on-quarter improvements in economic indexes predicted by economic research institutions, Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) told a forum yesterday. “Taiwan still suffered an economic slump in the first quarter, but we have passed through the darkest times,” Chiu said during a keynote speech at a forum on the global financial crisis. Chiu said that a decrease in the leading indicator in March had slowed compared with previous months, while the coincident indicator, an economic factor that varies directly and simultaneously with the business cycle, increased in two consecutive months. The TAIEX index had surged 37.89 percent since the end of last year yesterday, second only to the Shanghai index, Chiu said. He said signs of an economic recovery could also be seen in the upward trend of consumers’ confidence as the Consumer Confidence Index last month rose by 0.68 percentage points to 49.79, marking the second consecutive increase.
■ CRIME
MAC mulling Macau posting
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is considering whether to station criminal investigation liaison officers at its office in Macau to strengthen cross-strait efforts in crime-fighting, a MAC official said yesterday. The MAC has already started talks with the Macau authorities on the issue, MAC Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said. The MAC made the decision following the third round of talks between Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), which took place in Nanjing on April 26, Liu said. The two sides signed three agreements in the talks, covering issues related to regularly scheduled direct cross-strait flights, financial cooperation and cross-strait cooperation to fight crime.
■ DIPLOMACY
Sapporo office to open
A Taiwan representative office will open in Sapporo, Japan, on July 27, with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) attending the inauguration ceremony, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials said yesterday. John Feng (馮寄台), Taiwan’s representative to Japan, confirmed Wang’s attendance when giving a report on Taiwan-Japan ties to the Foreign and National Defense Committee at the legislature. The Sapporo office will be MOFA’s sixth in Japan and the first situated north of Tokyo, he said. Taiwan and Japan exchanged official notes on April 28 agreeing upon the opening of the Sapporo office, he said. MOFA decided to open the office to provide assistance to Taiwanese nationals in the area and to Taiwanese fishing boats operating in the North Pacific, as well as to help attract Japanese tourists to Taiwan, Feng said.
■ CRIME
Family mulls life decision
A couple who sent their son to Australia to further his education said on their arrival in Melbourne yesterday they were ready to turn off the brain-dead 17-year-old’s life-support system. Samuel Hsiung was knocked down on Saturday by a car that mounted the pavement. “Our family is here and tomorrow his sister will arrive, and we will make a decision on behalf of Samuel’s life,” father Calvin Hsiung told reporters. “I have confidence in the police that we can hunt for the driver in order to maintain a good society.”
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