The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday continued its call for more resources to help people affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines as the Ministry of National Defense is ready to dispatch a navy frigate to transport supplies, which could depart as early as Monday.
In a press statement, the ministry said that people in the Philippines are in desperate need of various types of relief supplies, including solar generators, ready-to-eat food products like canned food and instant noodles, tents, sleeping bags, water filters, raincoats and personal hygiene products.
The ministry encouraged people to bring relief goods to Lan Chang Transport Co’s (聯倉交通倉儲中心) logistics center at 109-1 Guangfu Rd Sec 1, Sanchong District (三重), New Taipei City (新北市), contact number (02) 2995-3399, or the naval base at 10 Jieshou Rd, Zuoying District (左營), Greater Kaohsiung, contact number (07) 588-9890.
People can also make contact with the ministry’s Nongovernmental Organization Affairs Committee on (02) 2348-2192 for information about procurement of relief supplies from group purchasing channels, the ministry said.
Since the typhoon hit the Philippines on Nov. 8, cash and in-kind resources provided by the government, Taiwanese, and charity and religious groups was valued at NT$190 million (US$6.42million) as of yesterday, the ministry said.
The air force has sent C-130 cargo planes to fly about 134 tonnes of relief goods to the Philippines in 18 sorties since Nov. 12.
An official, who wished to remain anonymous, said yesterday that the Ministry of National Defense is ready to dispatch a navy frigate with 1,000 tonnes of cargo capacity to transport more relief supplies to bring aid to affected areas in the Philippines.
The official said the frigate could depart for the Philippines as early as Monday and the ship will be escorted by a Kang Ding class frigate.
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