DIPLOMACY
Envoy to France honored
The Taiwan-France Friendship Group of the French National Assembly conferred a decoration on Taiwanese representative to France Michel Lu (呂慶龍) on Wednesday in recognition of his achievements in strengthening ties between the two countries. Francois Brottes, chairman of the group, said he has worked with Lu for six years and found him to be an outstanding and hard-working individual. Lu was presented with a photograph of the Eiffel Tower to thank him for enhancing ties between the two countries, Brottes said, speaking at a luncheon held by the French National Assembly. He described Lu as “an iconic figure of Taiwan, just like the Eiffel Tower is a French icon.” Lu said he felt grateful to be honored.
TOURISM
New tours to lure Chinese
The Taiwan Strait Tourism Association said yesterday it would work with travel agencies to promote quality tours to help attract more visitors from China. Currently, the tours for Chinese visitors are short, as cheap as possible and of relatively poor quality, said Lee Chia-pin (李嘉斌), director of the association’s Shanghai office. In light of this, the association and six travel agencies launched six different all-inclusive tour packages at a tourism fair in Zhejiang Province on Wednesday, in an effort to improve services in areas such as accommodation, transportation, food and shopping, Lee said. The new tours, aimed at providing a better experience for Chinese travelers in Taiwan, were well received by visitors to the fair, he said. From July 2008, when Taiwan began admitting Chinese tourists, to Dec. 16 this year, the number of visits to Taiwan by Chinese travelers in group tours was more than 4.77 million, the association said.
SOCIETY
Sex scandal rocks school
Two high-school students in New Taipei City (新北市) have been suspended for two weeks after it was found that they had allegedly had sex in front of several other students in a classroom, school officials said. The high school said it has launched a probe into the case involving the two 15-year-olds and three other students, and is offering them counseling. The teenage boy and girl reportedly had sex in a classroom on a weekend, while other students watched and took photos and videos, which they then circulated around the school, the officials said. The incident came to the authorities’ attention after a mother saw the photos on a student’s phone and informed the school. A school official said it was difficult to control student behavior on weekends. The school promised to review its management of the campus on days when there are no classes.
POLITICS
KMT backs Yen Kuan-hen
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has announced the nomination of Yen Kuan-hen (顏寬恆), son of former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), to run in the legislative by-election in the second electoral district of Greater Taichung. Yen Kuan-hen, 35, was an assistant to his father before Yen Ching-piao was found guilty of corruption and was sentenced to three-and-half years in prison last month. Although Yen Ching-piao was an independent, he was deemed close to the KMT and his imprisonment could have an impact on the political makeup of Greater Taichung. The KMT’s Central Standing Committee on Wednesday approved Yen Kuan-hen’s nomination. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, told the party to spare no efforts in the campaign.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS