AGRICULTURE
Changhua holds rice events
The Changhua County Government is holding a series of rice promotional activities this weekend to “reignite people’s passion for rice,” Changhua Deputy County Commissioner Yang Chung (楊仲) said. Yang said that with changes in local dietary habits and a “more Westernized” lifestyle, consumption of rice has declined in Taiwan. Last year, annual rice consumption stood at 48kg per person, representing a drop of nearly 50 percent from the level of 98kg per person in 1981, he said. To encourage rice consumption and revive the country’s waning rice culture, the county -government-sponsored activities feature various promotional activities, including a “10 best rice award,” a rice product display and cooking classes, Yang said. Changhua is one of Taiwan’s major agricultural counties and has the country’s largest rice output.
SOCIETY
HTC manager rescued
Kang Chi-cheng (康吉成), a manager at smartphone manufacturer HTC Corp who fell into a ravine in central Taiwan and was found safe on Friday, was rushed to a hospital yesterday after being airlifted out of the ravine by an air force helicopter earlier in the day. The preliminary health check conducted at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital showed that Kang was weak, but generally in good health. Kang fell into a deep ravine while hiking on -Nanhushan (南湖大山) in Taroko National Park on Nov. 5. He called the 119 SOS hotline the same day and was finally located in the ravine on Friday. However, strong winds, torrential rain and the rugged terrain in the area where Kang fell have severely hampered rescue attempts.
AGRICULTURE
Heavy rain damages crops
Days of torrential rains in parts of Taiwan have caused agricultural losses of up to NT$67.2 million (US$2.23 million) as of 9am yesterday, according to Council of Agriculture statistics. Under the influence of the northeast monsoon and a cold front, Taiwan has been affected by rainy weather since Nov. 8, with some areas receiving particularly heavy downpours. The council said the rains have damaged up to 32 percent of 3,326 hectares of land nationwide. These figures can be interpreted to mean there will be zero harvest on 1,073 hectares of farmland, it said. The red bean crop recorded the worst loss at NT$51.53 million, with rain damaging 2,005 hectares of land on which the crop was planted.
SOCIETY
Cute koalas attract crowds
Taipei Zoo’s four new koalas, brought over from Australia, were presented to the public yesterday, attracting large crowds of visitors. The four young koalas — three-year-old Empress, one-year-old Coral, one-year-old Tiwi and two-year-old Flynn — from the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland, Australia, arrived in Taipei on Oct. 23, adding to the zoo’s current population of four older koalas. These include three male koalas — eight-year-old Q-bi, six-year-old Q-di and 14-year-old Patrick — and one female, 11-year-old Pearl. Many of yesterday’s visitors commented on the “cuteness” of the creatures, with Tiwi, who was already popular in Australia because of her sweet demeanor, receiving the lion’s share of attention from visitors. Australian caretaker Heidi Patrick said the koalas were relaxed upon arrival and were adjusting “better than they expected.” They were so relaxed, in fact, that two have become sexually active since arriving in Taiwan.
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