HEALTH
Media hero’s mother dies
The mother of Ting Tsu-chi (丁祖伋), a retired officer at the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau’s Tainan branch, whose act of filial piety caused a media sensation earlier this month, died yesterday morning. Ting had carried his mother in a makeshift sling, made by knotting two blankets together, to hospital on March 2 for fear his mother would be uncomfortable in a wheelchair, because she had recently fractured a leg. Ting said in an interview on March 6 that he was not as good a person as the media made him out to be and he was only doing his filial duty, asking that media and the public allow his mother to recuperate in peace. The Chi Mei Medical Center confirmed that Ting’s mother died peacefully at 12:35am yesterday surrounded by her family.
LEGISLATION
Anti-spam bill passes review
The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday passed an initial review of an anti-spam bill proposed by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) that aims to enable the recipients of spam to ask for compensation. Recipients would be able to ask for between NT$100 and NT$500 per message under the proposed bill, which added that those sending legal business e-mails must allow recipients to clearly indicate whether they want to continue receiving them. To file for compensation, recipients are advised to keep the spam and print the junk e-mails out, Huang said. They can then turn the evidence over to a third-party organization recognized by the commission, which can file a collective lawsuit against the same spammer if it gathers evidence from 20 victims. Individuals are able to file lawsuits themselves at court as well, he added.
TOURISM
Delegation visits Malaysia
A tourism promotion delegation from Taiwan has arrived in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to solicit visits by tourists from the Southeast Asian country. Under the slogan “Time for Taiwan,” the group will be extolling the experience of visiting Taiwan to potential Malaysian tourists at the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents Fair, the country’s main annual travel show, slated for today until Sunday at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur. Taiwan will be introduced under three major themes — food, shopping and romance — according to group leader Chang Fu-nan (張富南), who is also a representative of Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau posted in Malaysia. The 132-member Taiwanese delegation, the largest of its kind ever to visit Malaysia, is composed of representatives from 86 tourism offices from cities and counties, travel agencies, hotels and tourism farms, Chang said.
TOURISM
Kinmen day-trips put online
Starting yesterday, Chinese tourists are able to apply online for one-day trips from Xiamen to Taiwan’s outlying island of Kinmen, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said. The agency has prioritized this type of trip because most Chinese tourists traveling to Kinmen tend to choose one-day packages from Xiamen in Fujian Province, NIA Director-General Hsieh Li-kung (謝立功) said. The decision to allow online applications was part of the agency’s effort to simplify travel procedures for Chinese tourists to Taiwan, he said. Hsieh said the online procedure would save time for local travel agencies in Kinmen, which are currently required to submit such applications on paper to the agency. It will also encourage more Chinese to travel to Kinmen after they complete their business trips in Xiamen, he said.
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