POLITICS
Blair to visit in October
Former British prime minister Tony Blair is expected to make his first-ever trip to Taiwan in the middle of October, political sources said. Blair, who served as prime minister from 1997 to 2007, is scheduled to visit Asia in October and major local groups, led by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, have invited him to add Taiwan to his itinerary for the trip, the sources said. Since his resignation as prime minister, member of parliament and leader of the Labour Party in June 2007, Blair has served as the Quartet’s Middle East special envoy. The Quartet is a group of nations and international entities involved in mediating the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher visited Taiwan twice, in 1992 and 1996, after she left her post.
ECONOMICS
Lien to attend APEC
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will attend the 20th APEC leadership forum in Russia in September as the envoy of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the Presidential Office announced on Wednesday. It will be the fifth time that Lien will be representing the nation at the annual summit, which will be held this year in Vladivostok on Sept. 8 and 9. The topic for this year’s summit is “Integrate to Grow, Innovate to Prosper,” and major agendas at the summit include investment liberalization, regional economic integration, food safety measures, reliable supply chain mechanisms and innovation promotion. As the nation’s envoy to APEC for the previous four years, Ma trusts Lien with his deep understanding of politics, the economy and international affairs, and therefore decided to invite him to serve as his envoy to the forum this year, Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said.
TOURISM
Tourists flocking to Taiwan
The number of foreign visitors could break the 7 million threshold this year if tourist arrival numbers can be maintained, Tourism Bureau officials said yesterday following the release of the latest tourism statistics. According to the bureau’s data, foreign visitor arrivals reached 3.57 million during the first half of the year, a 25.24 percent increase compared with the same period last year. The surge was mostly attributed to Chinese tourists, which posted over 1.2 million arrivals, at a 52 percent growth rate, during the first six months. Following an all-time high of 6.08 million foreign visitor arrivals last year, the bureau estimated in January that arrivals could grow to 6.6 million this year. Major increases in tourist numbers were also seen in other Asian countries, with Japan and Singapore posting year-on-year growth of 21 percent and 15 percent respectively.
CULTURE
Violinist at royal concert
A 17-year-old Taiwanese violinist is scheduled to perform as a soloist today in a royal concert that is a prelude to the 181st anniversary of Belgium’s independence. Earlier this year, Tseng Yu-chien (曾宇謙) took fifth place and won the audience prize at the 75th Queen Elisabeth Competition, a prestigious international music competition. He performed pieces including Ravel’s violin sonata, Sakai Kenji’s violin concerto and Brahms’ violin concerto in the final of the competition. Tseng started playing the violin at the age of five and has begun to receive international recognition in recent years, including winning first prize at the Isang Yun Competition last year.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all