TRAVEL
Sichuan gets level-2 alert
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday raised its travel alert for China’s Sichuan Province to level-2 after a new case of H5N1 avian influenza was reported there. Authorities confirmed on Friday last week that a 46-year-old man in the Sichuan city of Suining had contracted the avian flu strain, the first H5N1 human infection in the province this year. The man, who was exposed to dead poultry, developed H5N1 symptoms on Feb. 18 and died on Feb. 27, according to the CDC. Another H5N1 case was reported in China’s Jiangsu Province earlier this year, where a level-2 alert is still in place. Travelers to China should avoid contact with birds, alive or dead, pay attention to personal hygiene and seek immediate medical attention if they develop such symptoms as a fever or a cough, CDC officials said.
POLITICS
New party established
A new political party called Minkuotang (民國黨) — or the Republic Party (MKT) — was officially established yesterday. The founder and chairperson is Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), a legislator who withdrew from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in late January, saying that she wanted to form a “third force” and “to fulfill what the public expects of her.” About a dozen government officials and politicians across party lines, including Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), KMT caucus whip Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) and Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) attended yesterday’s ceremony and offered their congratulations. Hsu said at the ceremony that the founding of the MKT, “a party that places people before the nation,” was prompted by the need to get back to the grassroots level and “awaken society.”
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS