TOURISM
Bureau targets daily rentals
The Tourism Bureau launched a program yesterday to crack down on the daily rental of residential property, a common low-cost option for travelers in Taiwan, in a bid to improve local travel quality. The bureau is encouraging members of the public to submit pictures and addresses of “day rental suites” they find by offering tipsters a chance to stay in star-rated hotels. Although they are inexpensive, day rentals have a reputation for substandard security and criminal activity, the bureau said. The bureau said it is moving to improve the situation by streamlining the licensing system for hotels and bed-and-breakfasts. To break what it called a myth that good guesthouses are expensive, the bureau is promoting a Web site at taiwanstay.net.tw, which includes options that cost NT$2,000 per night.
AGRICULTURE
Storms lay waste to crops
The series of torrential rainstorms in southern Taiwan that began on Thursday last week generated agricultural and farming losses totaling NT$41.7 million (US$1.39 million) as of 4pm yesterday, according to statistics released by the Council of Agriculture. Greater Kaohsiung bore the brunt, with NT$30.5 million, the council said. Produce ranging from melon and papaya to bitter melon suffered losses amounting to more than NT$10 million each, the council said, adding that watermelon was the most severely damaged produce, suffering a loss of NT$3.85 million, with 143 hectares of grove devastated. Non-headed cabbages also suffered a loss of up to NT$2.38 million. The damage to fisheries largely involved milkfish and mullet in Greater Kaohsiung and totaled NT$22.56 million, the council said. About 9,000 chickens and 250 ducks were lost or drowned, causing NT$440,000 in losses, it said.
SOCIETY
Dean appeals extradition
British national Zain Dean on Thursday appealed a court ruling on his extradition to Taiwan. In the appeal filed by his lawyer, Dean challenged the nation’s legal status, argued that his trial in Taiwan had been unfair and said that serving time in a Taiwanese prison would put his life in danger. The appeal is to be heard in a higher court in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Dean had fled to before being detained last fall. No date has been set. Dean, who was head of a British company’s office in Taiwan, was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2012 for killing a newspaper delivery man while driving under the influence of alcohol. On June 11, Sheriff Kenneth Maciver of the Edinburgh Sheriff Court ruled that Dean should be extradited to Taiwan to serve his sentence. Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill approved Dean’s extradition on Aug. 1.
DIPLOMACY
Belize signs trafficking pact
The nation signed an agreement yesterday with Central American ally Belize on cross-border cooperation to combat human trafficking. The latest pact was signed in Taipei by Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) and Belizean Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse on behalf of their respective governments. Chen said that Taiwan has been listed as a “Tier 1” country in the US’ Trafficking in Persons Report for five years in a row, due to its good performance in the prevention and control of human trafficking. Taiwan is very happy to share its experience with and learn from other countries, Chen said. The agreement is the ninth of its kind that Taiwan has inked, the Ministry of the Interior said.
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