POLITICS
Ma back from US trip
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) returned home yesterday after concluding a five-day trip to the US. Ma was in the US at the invitation of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the University of Notre Dame, where he spoke on Taiwan’s new role in Asia and the world at the institute’s second Asia leadership forum on Sunday. He also met with Taiwanese students and expatriates. Ma’s US visit followed a trip to Malaysia to attend the World Chinese Economic Summit in Melaka on Wednesday and Thursday last week. That was Ma’s first overseas visit since leaving office on May 20.
CULTURE
Writer Chen Ying-chen dies
Writer Chen Ying-chen (陳映真) died on Tuesday in Beijing after a long-time illness, his wife said. Friends and Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) offered the family their deepest condolences. Chen was born in 1937 in Taiwan. His major works include the novels My Brother Kang-hsiung (我的弟弟康 雄), The Generals (將軍族), The Comedy of Tang Chien (唐倩的喜劇) and Home Coming (歸鄉). In 1985, Chen founded the Among the People (人間) magazine, which heralded the development of “reportage literature” in the nation with its focus on the life of common people. He also engaged in a heated debate with writer and academic Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明) on the differences between Taiwanese and Chinese literature in 2000. While his later works leaned toward “Chinese unification,” they also criticized the impact of “US capitalism” on Taiwan, writer and long-time friend Chi Chi (季季) said. In 2006, Chen Ying-chen moved to Beijing to take up a teaching post at Renmin University. In September that year, he suffered two strokes and had been bedridden ever since.
TRAVEL
Georgian man deported
A man claiming to be the manager of a company from Georgia has been deported to Malaysia after being found with a forged visa while transiting through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on his way to Canada. National Immigration Agency agents were investigating a human trafficking ring at the airport on Tuesday night when they approached a casually dressed man sitting alone in a waiting area. The agents said he looked like a typical Western tourist, but found that he appeared to know little English and spoke with an unusual accent. After checking his passport, they found that his visa to Canada was forged. The agency decided to deport him to Malaysia, his original departure destination. When questioned by immigration agents, the man said he was a manager at a company in Georgia, but he did not make much and wanted to move to Canada for a better life. He said he spent 2,000 euros (US$2,125) to purchase the Canadian visa from an illegal ring in Turkey, the agency said.
SOCIETY
Mom indicted over baby
A Vietnamese worker who left her baby at a temple was indicted on Tuesday for child abandonment. The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said the 27-year-old woman, who was identified only by her family name, Trieu, found she was pregnant when she arrived in Taiwan to work in January. Afraid that her employer would find out and send her home, she ran away in June. She gave birth to a baby girl. Saying she could not afford to take care of her newborn, she abandoned her at a temple on Sept. 13. The baby was found later that night, and police were able to trace the child to the woman a week later after reviewing surveillance footage.
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
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
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