■TOURISM
Chinese set to top visits
Chinese look set to overtake Japanese as the largest group of foreign visitors to Taiwan this year. The Tourism Bureau set a target of 1.2 million visits from Chinese this year, higher than the target of 1.1 million for Japanese. Last year, Japanese remained the largest group, but their numbers fell 7.92 percent to 1,000,661. Figures for Japanese tourists specifically, however, were down just 1.76 percent. Chinese were the second largest group, with 972,123 arrivals, including 606,174 traveling as tourists. During the Lunar New Year holiday, more than 40,000 Chinese tourists were scheduled to visit Taiwan, the bureau said last week. The bureau is expecting a record number of foreign nationals to visit Taiwan, with a target of 4.8 million this year, up 9 percent from the 4.4 million last year.
■TRAVEL
Fee to rise on March 1
The fee for ePassport applications will be increased to NT$1,600 starting on March 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. It currently costs NT$1,200 to apply for an ePassport. The fee was scheduled to rise on Jan. 1 but because of a surge in applications at the end of last year, the legislature passed a resolution to delay the implementation until March 1. The passport, which contains a contactless chip and antenna embedded in its back cover with the bearer’s biographical data and facial image stored on the chip, was first issued on Dec. 29, 2008. Combined with a new rule requiring people to apply for passports in person, the new ePassports have deterred the use of forged passports and it is hoped they will help Taiwan’s efforts to gain visa-waiver status from the US and the EU.
■TRANSPORTATION
MRT to add extensions
The Taipei Metropolitan Rapid Transit system is expected to add two extensions to its network in the second half of this year, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Rapid Transit System said. One of the extensions will be to the Bannan Line, from Zhongxiao-Xinsheng Station in Taipei to Luzhou Township (蘆洲) in Taipei County. The extension will allow passengers to travel between Luzhou and Taipei Main Station in only 19 minutes, the department said. Passengers will also have the option of changing trains at Minchuan West Road Station to travel on the Tamsui Line, which will reduce passenger numbers at Taipei Main Station. The second extension will also be on the Bannan Line, from Nankang Station to Nankang Exhibition Hall Station, connecting with the Wenhu Line there.
■POLITICS
Lu fuels speculation
Speculation that former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), may run for office in Kaohsiung City was fueled on Saturday when former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said that the younger Chen had “strong political DNA.” Speaking to the Taiwanese American Chamber Of Commerce in Los Angeles, Lu said she was not surprised about the younger Chen’s possible intention to run as he grew up in a very political environment. She added the caveat that, “running and winning are two different things,” and that the election result would be settled by Kaohsiung voters. Speculation mounted last month after Chen Chih-chung reportedly said that, “joining the [political] race is also a form of service,” after visiting his father at the Taipei Detention Center. He has since denied expressing any intention to run for public office, saying the media misinterpreted his comments.
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
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
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
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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