■ POLITICS
Ma-Tsai meeting ‘close’
A long-awaited meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) looked increasingly likely yesterday as the two parties began to talk about holding discussions on an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA). Presidential Office Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said Presidential Office Secretary-General Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) telephoned DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday afternoon after the DPP requested that Ma send somebody within seven days to talk about the meeting. Ma said during his recent trip to the South Pacific that he was willing to talk with Tsai about an ECFA, which the government hopes to sign with China later this year. The DPP yesterday asked Ma to make a move.
■ SOCIETY
Oversized burial plot
The Taipei County burial site of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) deceased father, Tsai Chie-sheng (蔡潔生), could end up costing her nearly NT$25 million (US$783,000) after preliminary investigations released yesterday found the site to be more than 412 times larger than regulation limits. The issue was highlighted by media reports late last week that questioned whether Tsai Chie-sheng’s burial site in Sindian City, Taipei County, which covers an estimated 3,298m², was in violation of the Funeral Administration Act (殯葬法), which limits burial sites to 26.47m². Under the law, violators have six months to alter sites to conform to regulations or face fines of NT$60,000 for every 26.47m² over the legal limit. In Tsai’s case, the amount would be NT$24.75 million. While Taipei County officials have said they would investigate the matter, some politicians are accusing the county of negligence in other cases of illegally sized burial sites. Formosa Plastics Group founder Wang Yung-ching (王永慶) was given permission for a 2 hectare burial site after he donated 3 hectares for use as a public graveyard.
■ POLITICS
Evacuation drills planned
Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said the government would conduct disaster prevention drills in the nation’s 25 counties and cities in preparation for heavy rain in the coming typhoon season. The drills will last until the end of next month. “The practice is not a formality, but a task to protect people’s lives and properties,” Jiang said, adding that the central government would supervise how local governments operate their disaster command centers, demarcate areas vulnerable to disasters, alert residents, evacuate people in danger and provide shelters for victims during the drill period.
■ CRIME
Mafia boss makes donation
A local mafia boss donated NT$60 million to charities in his will, with the donation completed by his son yesterday. “The money will be used to buy 10 buses for handicapped citizens to take care of their needs,” deputy Taichung Mayor Hsiao Jia-chi (蕭家旗) said. Lee Chao-hsiung (李照雄), 73, a leader of the underworld in the Taichung area, died of liver cancer on March 11. Before his death, he decided to donate the money to four different religious groups, charities and the Taichung City Government to take care of minority groups. Hsiao accepted the donation from Lee Yuan-bao (李元寶) on behalf of the recipients.
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