■SOCIETY
Centenarian numbers grow
The number of centenarians in the country has reached 1,223 as life expectancy in Taiwan continues to increase, a report released yesterday by the Ministry of the Interior showed. The data came from the annual census of centenarians conducted ahead of the Oct. 26 Double Ninth Festival that honors seniors. All citizens born before Dec. 31, 1909 were counted. The census found that 1,135 (92.8 percent) of the centenarians were between 100 and 104 years of age, while 84 were between 105 and 109 and four were 110 or older. The average age was 101.48. Women far outnumbered men: 853 to 370. The oldest centenarian is a 116-year-old woman in Kaohsiung City. A 113-year-old Hualien County man is the second-oldest.
■POLITICS
DPP threatens to sue
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said yesterday the party would file a lawsuit if Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) or her former husband, Wu Chun-li (吳俊立), runs in the Taitung legislative by-election. The by-election was called after KMT Legislator Justin Huang (黃健庭) resigned on Thursday to dedicate himself to running in the Taitung County commissioner election. There have been rumors for a while that Huang would step down to leave the seat open for either Kuang or Wu to run in exchange for their supporting his commissioner bid. Kuang had initially insisted on seeking reelection, but just a few days ago threw her support behind Huang. “It would prove that there was a deal between Huang, Wu and Kuang if Wu or Kuang registers to run in the by-election,” Hsiao said. “The DPP will sue it if that happens.”
■SOCIETY
Decision on Centrum soon
Consumers will soon get a clear answer on whether Centrum vitamins are a food or medicine, Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) said. The Department of Health considers Centrum a medicine because of its high vitamin content. “I will ask the Department of Health to make a decision by the end of this year,” said Chu, who is also chairman of the Consumer Protection Commission. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) has complained that one bottle of Centrum in April costs about three times more in Taiwan than it would in the US.
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