A Chinese writer has expressed his high opinion of Taiwan’s democracy, saying that the form of government is the reason why Taiwanese are so polite and law-abiding.
In an article titled “Masters of Taiwan” posted on the Sina Weibo microblogging site, Li Chengpeng (李承鵬) discusses his observations made during a visit to Taiwan.
Li wrote about a conservation he had with the owner of a noodle stand about Taiwan’s household garbage collection policy, under which people are required to put their garbage into specially designated trash bags before dumping it in garbage trucks.
Asked if anyone uses counterfeit trash bags to save money, the store owner replied: “This is my home. I would be doing myself a disservice if I did that.”
Li wrote that “this is my home” is an important concept developed as a result of a democratic process in which people have the right to take part in the governance of society.
People living in an undemocratic society cannot live by such a concept because everything is decided by a dictatorial government, Li said.
He also mentions Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program, which allows for universal access to healthcare. This stands in sharp contrast with the situation in China, where government officials, he said, treat people as if they are “thieves” and refuse to provide the disadvantaged with free medicine.
“Taiwanese are not more moral than mainlanders. They live in a leisurely manner because they are not treated as thieves. They know very well that Taiwan does not belong to the blue or the green camp, and firmly believe they are the masters of their homeland,” Li wrote.
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