DISASTER RELIEF
Taiwan, Japan to collaborate
Taiwan and Japan yesterday signed an agreement to share information on disasters caused by earthquakes, typhoons and landslides and exchange opinions on landslide prevention measures and on post-disaster reconstruction experiences. The agreement was signed by Taiwan’s East Asian Relations Commission Chairman Peng Run-tsu (彭榮次) and Hatakenaka Atushi, chairman of the Japan’s Interchange Association, in Taipei. Authorities in charge of disaster prevention are entitled to make contact with each other to collect related information. Both countries will dispatch experts to the other’s territory to conduct research, attend conferences and to develop technologies in the areas.
EDUCATION
Cadets graduate in Honduras
Three cadets from Taiwan graduated from Honduran military academies recently with remarkable academic performances, Taiwan’s embassy in Honduras said yesterday. Tien Chien-min (田健民), Chang Shuo-fang (張碩峰) and Chi Fei (齊飛) were among 89 military school graduates who were awarded bachelor degrees and the rank of second lieutenant or ensign during a ceremony on Wednesday, the embassy said. Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, who presided at the graduation ceremony, congratulated the new officers on their achievements and praised the Taiwanese graduates for their outstanding performance. He also expressed hope that the Taiwanese graduates would help in the future to promote military interactions between Taiwan and Honduras.
CRIME
Pilfered goods returned
Ten years after stealing a cup, a blanket and a set of dining utensils from a Cathay Pacific plane, the repentant passenger sent them back to the airline, along with NT$900, airline sources said on Thursday. The airline’s Kaohsiung office received the package on July 19, but as they were unable to contact the sender, who called himself Chiu Chan-ho (邱禪荷), they initially did not open it. Finally, one staffer’s curiosity got the better of her and she opened the package. Lee Hsiung-ta (李雄達), a manager in charge of the carrier’s business in southern Taiwan, speculated that Chiu might be a frequent flyer who took the objects some time ago and was now sending them back after being struck with remorse. Lee said all the items were no longer in production and could be seen as collector’s items. Since the staff could not reach the sender, they decided to donate that NT$900 “interest payment” to the UN Children’s Fund.
POLITICS
Taipei Metropolis proposed
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday submitted a proposal to have Taipei City, Taipei County and Keelung merged into a single administrative district in a bid to improve Taiwan’s international competitiveness. KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said the merger was originally part of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) campaign platform in early 2008, but never materialized for a variety of reasons. Taipei County will be upgraded to a municipality and renamed Sinbei City on Dec. 25 — making it part of a twin city with the capital, Taipei, along with the much smaller neighboring Keelung, Hsieh said. If Taipei, Sinbei and Keelung were to be merged, it would have a population of more than 7 million, constituting nearly 30 percent of Taiwan’s population. Such a merger would definitely make the northern area, to be known as the Taipei Metropolis, into a world-class city with high competitiveness, Hsieh said.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai