■POLITICS
KMT nominates candidate
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday nominated Chang Geng-hui (張艮輝) to run in the Yunlin County legislative by-election. The nomination must be approved by the party’s Central Nomination Review Committee and Central Standing Committee. Chang, 48, is an associate professor at National Yunlin University of Science and Technology. Yunlin Irrigation Association director Chang Hui-yuan (張輝元) has announced he will run in the by-election as an independent. Chang’s son, former KMT legislator Chang Sho-wen (張碩文), won a legislative election in Yunlin County in January last year but lost his seat last month after the High Court found him guilty of participating in a vote-buying scheme organized by his father. Chang Hui-yuan, who was found guilty of vote buying in the first trial, had registered with the KMT to run in the by-election on behalf of his son. The KMT later rejected his registration based on the revised version of its “black-gold exclusion clause,” which states that members who are found guilty of corruption at a first trial may not to be nominated for any election. The by-election will be held on Sept. 26.
■SPORTS
Drivers study sign language
More than 800 bus drivers employed by the Capital Bus Company are studying sign language to offer better service to athletes competing in the 21st Summer Deaflympics to be held from Sept. 5 to Sept. 15, a spokesman for the private company said yesterday. General Manager Lee Chien-wen (李建文) said the company broadcasts a film at every bus depot on the hour every day to give drivers a chance to learn some of the language. The company has also hired several dactylology teachers from the city’s Department of Labor to give drivers training in the use of simple hand signals.
■TOURISM
Foreign visitors surge
The number of foreign visitors rose 10.4 percent to 2.1 million in the first half of the year, spurred by an influx of Chinese tourists, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday. About half of the total were tourists, up 28.1 percent, while 381,000 were business visitors, down 18.6 percent. The rest were foreigners in other categories, such as foreign workers, the Tourism Bureau said in its monthly bulletin. Although the number of tourists from most countries fell, including a 53 percent drop in South Korean tourists, the number of Chinese tourists grew. In the period from January to June, Taiwan received 251,273 Chinese tourists, up 711 percent from the same period last year.
■EXCHANGES
Delegation readies for Israel
A youth delegation will leave for Israel soon to attend an international ecology and summer leadership program, the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO) said yesterday. At the invitation of the Taipei-based Israeli office, five young people with volunteering background in animal or environmental protection will participate in the program, which is being organized by Israel’s National Council for Youth Exchange. The ISECO said the program would focus on themes of ecology and youth leadership, and would feature workshops, ecological and cultural activities and trips to Israel’s museums and popular tourist attractions. The program is scheduled to be held between Sunday and Aug. 16 in Hakefar-Hayarok and will serve as a platform for cultural exchanges among the participants. All accommodation costs will be covered by the Israeli Youth Council, the ISECO 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