A Taiwanese student is still missing five days after a deadly earthquake that struck New Zealand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported yesterday, adding that it has not been authorized by the missing student’s family to provide additional information.
Ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said that since the temblor occurred on Tuesday, the ministry has maintained close contact with the family of the missing student and has worked to locate the student by going to her home in Christchurch, the epicenter of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake.
According to a Taiwanese news network, the missing student is a female surnamed Lee (李) who worked as a nurse prior to going to New Zealand.
Lee’s mother told television reports that her daughter had saved many people in the past and hopes she, too, might be rescued soon.
Radio New Zealand reported that as of yesterday, the death toll from the quake had risen to 146, with more than 200 people still unaccounted for. Additionally, local police fear not all the dead will be identified.
Police Superintendent Dave Cliff said a large number of overseas tourists and residents now in New Zealand had been reported missing, but are most likely safe.
He reiterated his plea for overseas visitors to contact their families or the Red Cross to confirm they are alive.
Search and rescue teams from all parts of the world, including Taiwan, arrived in Christchurch soon after Tuesday’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake and are still scouring the rubble of collapsed buildings, local news media reported.
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