■ POLITICS
KMT to hold candidate polls
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday it would determine the candidates for the Taitung and Taichung legislative by-elections via polls. The party will hold polls from Friday to Sunday and announce the result next Monday. KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will approve the nominees on Nov. 11, the KMT said. The Taitung legislative by-election is to be held after former KMT legislator Justin Huang (黃健庭) resigned on Oct. 15 to run in the Taitung County commissioner election. Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) may also join the race. The Taichung legislative by-election will be held to fill the seat left vacant by former KMT legislator Chiang Lien-fu (江連福), whose election status was annulled over vote-buying.
■ SOCIETY
Poppy Day registration
People interested in taking part in the annual Remembrance Day Event on Nov. 15 and the banquet on the evening of Nov. 14 should register with the British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO) in Taipei, organizers said. The annual service will be held at the former Kinkaseki prisoner of war camp in Jinguashih (金瓜石), Taipei County. Bus transportation will be available. Reservations for both the banquet and bus can be made by calling Clare Lear at the BTCO on (02) 8758-2056 or by e-mail: Clare.Lear@fco.gov.uk.
■ HEALTH
Vaccines may come soon
Free cervical cancer vaccines might be available for young Aboriginal and low-income women by the end of this year, the Department of Health said. “As long as the policy is approved by the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, it can be implemented starting in December,” Bureau of Health Promotion Deputy Director Chao Kun-yu (趙坤郁) said in response to complaints about a delay in implementing the policy.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
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