POLITICS
Legislators report for duty
Several legislators reported early for the new session yesterday, with one even staying overnight at the Legislative Yuan to be the first arrival. Legislators started reporting for the eighth plenary session of the seventh legislature at 8am yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Tsao Erh-chang (曹爾忠), Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠), Lin Te-fu (林德福) and Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉) attended, as well as Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Peng Shao-chin (彭紹瑾). The legislature holds two sessions each year, the first from February to the end of May, and the second from September to the end of December. Tsao said he arrived at 11:30pm on Wednesday night to get an early start, adding that he is often the first arrival for legislative sittings or committee meetings. KMT Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰) jogged in from Tucheng (土城) in New Taipei City (新北市). Lu said that when he was elected in 2008, he also jogged in to take his oath of office. The new session is scheduled to start on Sept. 16.
COMMUNICATIONS
HSR to upgrade WiMAX
The Bureau of High Speed Rail (HSR) said on Wednesday it would upgrade its telecommunications service by June to offer its passengers uninterrupted Internet access on mobile devices. In a NT$500 million (US$17 million) joint project, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Industrial Technology Research Institute and a local telecommunications company, the bureau said it would introduce the 4G (fourth-generation) WiMAX technology to overcome glitches in the current service. At present, high-speed rail passengers using 2G or 3G cellular devices often have reception problems because the high speed of the trains makes it difficult to achieve a smooth signal transition from one base station to the next. However, that obstacle should soon be overcome because hundreds of WiMAX base stations and 360km of optical fiber cable are being installed along the railway line, the bureau said.
TRANSPORT
EasyCard seeks trial testers
EasyCard Corp began accepting applicants yesterday for a trial scheme for IC EasyCards with a new function that allows users to look up their card usage record online. EasyCard was first introduced in Taipei in 2002. The company is offering 20,000 free Republic of China -centennial-themed IC EasyCards for commuters who apply to test-drive the new cards. According to the company , the chip embedded in the card allows holders to access their usage record for the past three months at home using a reader, rather than just the six most recent transactions the current EasyCard permits. The company said applications would remain open until Monday or until 20,000 applications had been accepted. EasyCard users can apply and submit their comments or suggestions at www.easycard.com.tw/newcard, the company said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Rocker Chyi Chin burned
Veteran Taiwanese rocker Chyi Chin (齊秦) was severely burned early yesterday at his home in Beijing, but was reported to be in stable condition, his agency said in a statement. The 51-year-old singer-songwriter suffered second-degree burns on his face and back while undergoing cupping therapy, the agency said, adding the therapist had accidentally spilled alcohol on Chyi. The burns covered about 8 percent of his body. Chyi was undergoing the treatment to alleviate fatigue. His agency said Chyi would cancel all public activities for the next two to three months to recuperate.
NATIONAL DEFENSE
GIO sends ‘WSJ’ clarification
The Government Information Office (GIO) said yesterday that it has sent a clarifying statement to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) regarding a recent opinion piece in the paper that suggested parts of Taiwanese society have been penetrated by Chinese intelligence. The statement, drafted by the Ministry of National Defense, is expected to be published in one or two days, Government Information Office Minister Philip Yang (楊永明) said. The statement, written in English and two pages in length, not only denies the infiltration allegation, but highlights the substantive relations between Taiwan and the US, according to ministry spokesman Colonel David Lo (羅紹和). On Wednesday, Lo told a press conference that “there is a consensus within Taiwan’s armed forces that despite the warming of cross-strait relations, China is still an enemy.”
TRAVEL
Bureau tells Family Mart ‘no’
Tourism Bureau director general Janice Lai (賴瑟珍) yesterday said the bureau has sent an official notice to Family Mart informing the convenience store chain that it cannot collect applications for Taiwan Compatriot Entry Permits from customers planning to visit China and deliver them to travel agencies. The chain announced on Aug. 23 that it was working with a courier company and a travel agency to launch the service, by which Taiwanese planning to visit China would pay a fee of NT$499 to get their single-entry Taiwan Compatriot Entry Permit to China renewed. FamilyMart said at the time it expected to handle 20,000 applications a month. Lai said the chain could violate the Act for Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例) if it went ahead with the new service. However, later in the day, FamilyMart said it would continue the service unless a formal ruling against the service was handed down.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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