GOVERNMENT
Computer glitches fixed
There should be fewer delays with the government’s new household registration system as of today, because many of the glitches that caused hiccups in the system last week have been fixed, Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) said yesterday. The system’s designer worked over the weekend to make hardware and software adjustments to help the system run more smoothly, Hsiao said. Many people complained last week of having to wait at least one-and-a-half hours to register their marriages, apply for new national identification cards or get copies of their household registration after the new system was launched on Wednesday last week. Previously, the normal wait was about 20 minutes, Hsiao said. The glitches made it difficult for household registration office staff to access and enter data in the system, causing delays that affected about 40,000 to 50,000 people, Hsiao said.
DIPLOMACY
Envoy heading to Israel
New Representative to Israel Chi Yun-sheng (季韻聲) is to formally assume his post later this week. Chi, who previously served as deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Bureau of Consular Affairs, is scheduled to leave for Israel on Wednesday. He promised to advance bilateral relations in trade, culture, tourism and other areas. The 30-year ministry veteran said that promoting Taiwan’s visibility among the Israeli public will be a priority. Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei Representative Simona Halperin said she expects bilateral ties to continue to be strengthened. Chi succeeds Chang Liang-jen (張良任), who is now the representative to Indonesia. Chi has served in South Africa and the US.
CHARITY
Philippines says thank you
The Philippine Department of Tourism launched a campaign on Saturday to say “thank you” to the countries that offered aid and support after the Philippines was ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan in November last year. “The Philippines says thank you,” reads the home page of the department’s Web site, which features photographs and video clips of people around the country thanking the world. “The Philippines wants to say a big thank you to everyone who has been helping us rebuild after Typhoon Haiyan,” the bureau said. The campaign will run in newspapers and billboards in cities around the world. Figures from the Philippines’ Foreign Aid Transparency Hub show that Taiwanese donated US$7.09 million in supplies and cash after Haiyan left thousands dead and many more displaced.
TOURISM
Holiday boost for Yunlin
Yunlin County got a good start to the Year of the Horse, attracting about 700,000 visitors and generating NT$200 million (US$6.60 million) over the Lunar New Year holiday from Jan. 30 to Tuesday last week, the county government said. About 211,000 people visited the Yunlin Agriculture Expo, which opened on Dec. 25 last year and will run through March 6, while others were drawn to the 100 tourist highlights in the country’s 21 towns and cities, the county government said. Flower farms in Cihtong Township (莿桐) proved to be the most popular attraction, drawing about half of all visitors, it said. About 20 percent of the visitors stayed in local accommodations, contributing to the NT$200 million in revenue — in addition to meals and shopping — the county earned over the holiday.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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