POLITICS
DPP’s Ker asked to testify
A resolution by the Legislative Yuan’s Discipline Committee yesterday asked Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) to testify before the committee on Friday next week to explain his alleged role in an improper lobbying case, which also involves Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平). Ker, who said that he had never asked Wang to lobby for him, reported himself to the legislature and demanded to be investigated. A plenary session at the legislature decided to refer the case to the Discipline Committee, and required the investigation to be digitally recorded and broadcast online simultaneously.
DIPLOMACY
Ma thanks Tuvalu for aid
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday expressed gratitude to the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu for its donation of US$210,000 in the wake of Typhoon Morakot in 2009. Tuvalu’s donation amounted to 1 percent of its economic output, Ma said, in a meeting with Tuvaluan Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga in Taipei. Ma said he was very surprised and full of gratitude when he learned of the country’s generosity. Tuvalu, one of Taiwan’s 23 diplomatic allies, donated US$210,000 in relief aid after Morakot caused the heaviest flooding in the nation in 50 years. Taiwan has been active in donating to relief efforts overseas, but has never contributed such a big percentage of its GDP, Ma said. He also thanked Tuvalu for its consistent support for Taiwan in the international arena over the years and most recently at the Pacific Islands Forum in the Marshall Islands in September. At that forum, Tuvalu paid tribute to Taiwan for its contribution to the development of the South Pacific nations, Ma said. He also commended Sopoaga’s efforts to push for Taiwan’s participation in the UN.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai