TOURISM
Taiwanese hurt in bus crash
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) yesterday said that nine Taiwanese tourists were injured in a bus crash in which four people died in Bandung, Indonesia, on Monday night. Lin said that the staff of the ministry’s mission in the country has been sent to help the injured. Non of the Taiwanese were in mortal danger, while one has already been discharged from hospital, Lin said, in response to a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) at the legislature. According to the ministry, the bus was carrying Taiwanese and Chinese tourists when it overturned on a mountain road, killing three Chinese and one Indonesian.
SCIENCE
France honors local scientist
Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), a former president of Academia Sinica and a winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was honored by the French government yesterday for his contribution to scientific exchanges between Taiwan and France. Lee was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit. Presenting Lee’s medal, the French Office in Taipei praised Lee for helping to strengthen scientific ties between the two countries. Lee has been an example of the saying “science has no boundaries,” French office director Olivier Richard said. As a result of Lee’s efforts, the two countries now work together on more than 160 scientific projects each year, the office said. In an interview earlier this week, Lee said his two goals in life were to “become a good scientist” and “create a beautiful world with people who share the same beliefs.” To this end, he is leading a project called “Future Earth” as president of the International Council for Science, a non-governmental organization.
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