■ POLITICS
Chen Chu may visit China
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) is likely to visit Beijing and Shanghai later this month, which would make her the highest incumbent official from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ever to visit China. Chen said at a meeting of the city government yesterday that she would consider visiting Beijing from Wednesday through Friday to attend the Paris-based International Real Estate Federation’s 60th World Congress. Two public works projects that have been completed in Kaohsiung — the Heart of Love River bridge system and the Kaohsiung Central Park MRT Station — have been nominated by the federation for the prestigious Prix d’Excellence awards to be presented during the congress next week. “If I go, I will inform the DPP Central Standing Committee about the trip and file an application for the visit with the Mainland Affairs Council for approval,” Chen said. Meanwhile, DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that Chen’s visit had nothing to do with cross-strait politics and that it was not politically motivated.
■ TELECOMS
More teens have handsets
Taiwanese teenagers have become increasingly dependent on mobile phones, which have become a must-have item among youngsters, a survey released by the King Car Education Foundation yesterday showed. The survey found that 65.2 percent of respondents owned mobile phones, up 8 percent from a similar survey carried out in 2006. While only one-third of respondents in senior years of elementary school had mobile phones, the ratio increased to 50 percent among junior high school students and 90 percent among first-year senior high school students. Between 43.3 percent and 48.69 percent of the respondents said they would feel lonely and uneasy if they forgot to carry their mobile phones, their phone ran out of batteries or they failed to reach people they are trying to contact. Others said they felt unhappy if nobody called them or if their phone use was limited. Only 12.3 percent of respondents said they would not be disturbed by any of these situations. The survey, which was conducted last month, interviewed 2,358 students ranging from fifth to 10th grades in 18 schools nationwide.
■ CROSS-STRAIT
Legislature to review pacts
The legislature yesterday approved a motion proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to refer the three agreements signed in the third round of cross-strait talks to the legislative committees for review. The latest round of talks between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait were held on April 26 in Nanjing. The two sides signed three agreements covering the launch of regular cross-strait passenger flights, mutual juridical assistance and joint crime-fighting measures, as well as financial cooperation. A joint statement on a proposal to open Taiwan to Chinese investment was also released on the occasion. Initially the government sent the three agreements to the legislature for reference only, meaning lawmakers had no right to review their content. DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅) said his caucus proposed the motion to highlight the irrationality of the government’s intention to bypass the legislature to implement the agreements. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said the KMT caucus was confident that the agreements would clear the legislature.
■ SOCIETY
Panda phone-link launched
Taipei Zoo launched a “Ring-a-Panda” service on Thursday, enabling subscribers to watch the zoo’s two pandas live via videophone. Panda-loving 3G phone users can dial a number and then view either two hours of live broadcasts from the Panda House, or hours of prerecorded footage of Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓). An average of 12,500 people have visited the Panda House every day since the pair went on display, making them the zoo’s star attraction.
■ SOCIETY
Clown fish aquarium opens
The world’s first clown fish aquarium opened yesterday, featuring 18 species and nearly 1,500 clown fish. The Aquarium of Anemonefish is located in the Aquatic Ecosystem Exhibition Museum in Chengkung Township (成?Taitung County. The public can see many rare species of clown fish and learn more about the progress in local artificial fish-breeding techniques, aquarium planner Ho Yuan-hsing (何源興) said. The 18 species on exhibit consist of five native to Taiwan and 13 developed by scientists — five in Taiwan’s research center and eight from abroad, Ho said. One of the many special and rare types of clown fish on display is the skunk clown fish, which has a long, straight white line on its back and comes from East Africa, Ho said. Some other rare species are black in color, he said.
■ TOURISM
Hualien awaits lucky visitor
The tourist service center at Hualien train station is looking to welcome its 500,000th visitor sometime next week. Hualien County Tourism Bureau Chief Lin Pao-shu (林寶樹) said the county was planning an activity to award a prize to the lucky 500,000th visitor to the tourist service center since it was established in 2004. The center recorded its 300,000th visitor on Sept. 29, 2007, he said. Tourist arrivals in Hualien, one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country, have topped 500,000 since the beginning of this year, Lin said.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
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