Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday praised state-owned Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp (TTL, 台灣菸酒公司) for sponsoring the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, to the tune of NT$400 million (US$12.29 million).
“When I heard about the plan, I approved without hesitation because it offers tremendous benefits: The tasty Taiwan Beer will sweep the mainland and the brand will promote the ‘Taiwan concept’ and Taiwan’s excellence. It could also generate extra revenue of NT$30 billion a year,” Wu said.
TTL president Duan Wei (韋伯韜) signed the sponsorship deal with the 16th Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee in Beijing on Monday and announced the launch of corporate offices in Beijing and Shanghai.
The Games are scheduled for next November.
Wei and a group of businesspeople awarded for their excellent performance met the premier.
TTL has sought to register the Taiwan Beer brand as a trademark in China since 1999, but Beijing did not approve the registration until in May, objecting to the use of the word “Taiwan.”
TTL’s operations are expected to contribute approximately NT$20 billion in tax revenue this year, Wei said, and attributed the growth in sales to the Chinese market.
“Tax revenue from sales of tobacco and alcohol between January and September this year fell 7.2 percent, but exports soared, especially in China, where sales grew 30-fold in July and August compared with previous months,” Wei said.
Wei said that exploring the Chinese market would help TTL double its annual revenue and create 1,000 job opportunities in Taiwan.
The Democratic Progressive Party lashed out at TTL for sponsoring the Games with NT$400 million, after it gave only NT$400,000 to the Deaflympics in Taipei and nothing to the World Games in Kaohsiung.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
RSS