Two Yilan County councilors yesterday urged members of the public to write protest letters to a Japanese academic to express their anger over his claim that the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) belong to Japan.
Tsai Wen-yi (蔡文益) and Lin Yueh-hsien (林岳賢) announced their “one person, one letter” campaign at a news conference at Yilan County Council Hall, calling for people to take action to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty over the uninhabited islands, which are about 220km northeast of Taipei.
Displaying a copy of a land ownership certificate updated by the Yilan Land Office in September 2004, Tsai said the document proves that the Diaoyutais are registered as part of Yilan County’s Toucheng Township (頭城).
Nagasaki Junshin Catholic University associate professor Nozomu Ishiwi several days ago told Japanese media that the islands belong to Japan.
“This untrue statement has caused Toucheng residents to feel resentment,” Tsai said.
He said people should write letters to Ishiwi detailing their determination to defend the nation’s sovereignty.
The county council has passed a proposal that would see the county government inviting President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his successor sail to the Dioayutais with Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢).
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