DIPLOMACY
Yoshiro Mori visits Taiwan
Former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day private visit, the third former Japanese prime minister to visit the country this year, following Taro Aso and Shinzo Abe, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. During his stay, Mori will attend the 13th Asian Japanese Rugby Cup to be held in Taipei today and visit the Baojue Buddhist Temple (寶覺禪寺), a shrine dedicated to some Japanese World War II soldiers who fought overseas located in Taichung. Mori, known as his pro-Taiwan position, last visited the country in November 2006, when he was received by then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who conferred upon him the Special Grand Cordon of the Order of the Brilliant Star, incurring the anger of Beijing.
POLITICS
Lee Huan dies at 95
Former premier Lee Huan (李煥) died of cardiopulmonary failure at Taipei Veterans General Hospital late on Thursday at the age of 95. Lee is survived by four children. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華), the second child of the late politician, made the announcement of his father’s passing and said the family would hold a simple funeral without a public memorial ceremony, according to his father’s wishes. Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) immediately extended his condolences to Lee’s family upon being informed of the death. Lee was born in China’s Hubei Province in 1917 and served as premier from 1989 to 1990. He also served as minister of education from 1984 to 1987.
CHINA
Chinese visa wait shortened
Taiwan’s representative office in Los Angeles has shortened the visa processing time for overseas Chinese nationals intending to visit Taiwan, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Los Angeles said on Thursday. The new service — currently being provided on a trial basis before it is expanded to other US cities — allows eligible applicants to obtain entry permits to Taiwan within 10 days of application, compared with the usual three to four weeks. The program is aimed at holders of People’s Republic of China passports who have lived overseas for a year or who hold permanent resident status or student visas in a foreign country. According to a TECO immigration clerk, the service has received a warm reception since it was launched on Nov. 8.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
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