WEATHER
Maysak impact limited: CWB
Newly formed Typhoon Maysak was southeast of Guam as of the early hours of yesterday morning and is moving westward toward regions close to Taiwan, Central Weather Bureau (CWB) officials said. The new typhoon, the fourth Pacific storm this year, is still unlikely to influence weather in Taiwan in the short term, the bureau officials added. As of the early hours of yesterday morning, Maysak was about 3,800km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, and about 1,130km southeast of Guam, moving westward at 20kph, the CWB said. Maysak is expected to approach seas east of Luzon in the Philippines over the weekend, if it keeps its current direction and pace.
EMPLOYMENT
One-third want China jobs
Roughly one-third of Taiwanese aged under 40 are hoping to find a job in China due to potentially higher salaries and greater room for career development, a survey from cable television channel TVBS found. According to the survey conducted by the production team of the TVBS program Understanding China, 34 percent of the nation’s young men and women in the 20-29 age bracket would choose to work in China rather than find a job locally, while the percentage for the 30-39 age bracket stands at 32 percent. It fell to 22 percent for the 40-49 age group. As many as 56 percent of respondents aged 20-29 believed they would receive a relatively higher salary in China compared to Taiwan, while 53 percent thought they would see more opportunities in China for career development, the survey revealed.
ENTERTAINMENT
Bocelli to return to Taiwan
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli is to hold a concert in Taipei next month, performing popular opera pieces, Italian songs and pop music. The opera singer is scheduled to perform at the Taipei Arena on April 24, accompanied by the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra and the Taiwan National Choir, according to Management of New Arts, the Taiwanese promoter of the concert. The songs he is to perform include Canto Della Terra by composer Francesco Sartori and Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love, the organizer said, adding that Bocelli also plans to sing with soprano Maria Aleida selections from Romeo et Juliette by French composer Charles-Francois Gounod. It will be Bocelli’s fourth visit to Taiwan since 2008.
TRAVEL
EVA to start new Japan route
EVA Airways, Taiwan’s second-largest airline, is to launch flight services between Kaohsiung and Fukuoka in Japan beginning tomorrow, the company said yesterday. EVA Air will initially offer round-trip flights between the two destinations every Tuesday and Saturday, increasing the number of flights to five per week during the summer. The airline plans to use the 184-seat Airbus A321-200 on the new route. EVA Air decided to add the new service because of substantial growth in the number of Taiwanese travelers to Japan over the past year, the airline said. More than 2.9 million Taiwanese traveled to Japan last year, the most in history and 27 percent more than during the previous year — the airline expects that growth to continue this year. In addition to the new flight route, EVA Air also plans to increase the number of flights between Taoyuan and Osaka from 16 per week to 21, and between Taoyuan and Hakodate in Hokkaido from four to seven. The changes are to take effect tomorrow, the carrier 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