TOURISM
Bureau forecasts growth
Foreign tourist arrivals could increase from last year’s record 7.3 million to 7.7 million this year, with China and Southeast Asian countries the main sources of growth, the Tourism Bureau said. Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said the bureau would step up efforts to lure wealthy travelers from China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam because they are showing increasing buying power. Last year there were record high numbers of tourists from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore, which suggests an increasing potential in the regional market, the bureau said. The number of travelers from Hong Kong and Macau broke the 1 million mark last year to reach 1.01 million, up 24.3 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said. The tourism sector generated NT$340 billion (US$11 billion) in foreign exchange last year, bureau statistics show.
DIPLOMACY
Burghardt arrives for visit
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt arrived in Taipei last night for a five-day visit, the institute said. Burghardt was scheduled to meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and several major figures in politics and business, it said in a statement. It is Burghardt’s 14th trip to Taiwan since he took up the top AIT post in February 2006, the statement said. Burghardt was the director of AIT’s Taipei office from 1999 to 2001. He is also the director of East-West Seminars at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
TRAVEL
Ministry offers flood advice
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an advisory yesterday that the southeastern areas of the Australian state of Queensland are suffering from flooding and warned travelers to the area to pay attention to personal safety. The capital of Queensland, Brisbane, and areas of Ipswich, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast are all affected by the floods caused by torrential rain, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. It reminded Taiwanese students, young people on working holidays, expatriates living in Queensland, tourists and businesspeople planning to travel there that they should stay away from low-lying areas or places close to flooded rivers. The ministry also warned travelers of possible traffic stoppages in the Greek capital of Athens, which has been hit by a series of wildcat strikes by mass transportation system workers.
MUSIC
Producer excited over award
Award-winning US musician Daniel Ho yesterday said he was excited about a Taiwanese Aboriginal album he produced being nominated for a Grammy award for Best World Music Album, and he hoped to introduce the nation’s Aboriginal music to the world. Ho, a six-time Grammy Award winner, said he visited Taiwan three times over the past year to work with six Aboriginal artists on the album, titled On a Gentle Island Breeze (吹過島嶼的風). Ho said that while they do not speak the same language, music has no boundaries and he expressed hope of bringing more Aboriginal melodies from Taiwan to the world stage. Singers on the album include Hao-en (昊恩), a Puyuma, and Amis singer Illid Kaolo, recipient of Best Aboriginal Singer, Best New Artist and Best Aboriginal Album at the Golden Melody Awards last year. Ho’s album was produced by his production company and Taipei-based Wind Music International. The Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
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