SOCIETY
Fire breaks out at hotel
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Regent Taipei hotel early yesterday morning after a fire broke out in the five-star hotel’s basement floor, the Taipei City Fire Department said. The fire started at about 3am in a stockroom belonging to a luxury boutique in the hotel’s shopping arcade, resulting in thick smoke billowing through parts of the building, the department said. The fire was extinguished in about an hour, it said, adding that authorities are investigating the cause. Some guests had to be rescued from their rooms due to the smoke, the department said. Most of the merchandise stored in the shop’s stockroom was destroyed in the fire, but there were no injuries, it added.
DIPLOMACY
License agreement signed
Taiwan and the US state of Kentucky have signed an agreement to allow licensed drivers from either side to obtain a driver’s license without having to take a road test, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Kentucky became the 21st US state to enter into a driver’s license agreement with Taiwan, it said, adding that Taiwan was the first nation to sign such an accord with the US state. The agreement will make it easier for Taiwanese working or studying in Kentucky, as well as those who go there for academic exchanges, to obtain a driver’s license, the ministry said, adding that Taiwanese holders of a residency permit or a non-immigrant visa will be exempted from road and written tests when applying for a driver’s license in the US state.
INTERNET
Web site features TV anchor
A US news site called the Moth Daily, which delivers news in video using American Sign Language as well as text, recently published a story about PTS TV news anchor Wang Shiao-su (王曉書). “In Taiwan — there is a deaf woman who works as a TV news anchor. Her name is Sue Wang (45). She works for a public, government-funded TV program that airs 8-8:30am daily. She signs out the news by reading a teleprompter — using the same content as what hearing anchors use,” reported the Web site, which is run by Alex Abenchucan. It also published a 15-minute video, which can be viewed at www.dailymoth.com/single-post/2017/02/21/The-Daily-Moth-2-21-17. The segment about Wang starts at the 14:25 mark, with photographs and videos of the news anchor. Abenchuchan said it was the first time that a report about a deaf Taiwanese was published on the Web site.
SOCIETY
City fights food waste
The Hsinchu City Government on Friday launched a “communal refrigerator” program that allows retailers to share excess food in a bid to reduce food waste and help people in need. Food donated by retailers, such as supermarkets and bakeries, will be collected and stored in communal refrigerators, which are open to people who need it, the city’s Department of Social Affairs said. The first batch of refrigerators were unveiled in the Minfu Community (民富) in the city’s North District (北區) and more will soon become available in two other locations, the department said, adding that the refrigerators will be open on Monday to Friday, from 4pm to 5pm. Expressing appreciation to Cotton Field Organic Co for donating six commercial refrigerators, Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) said the communal refrigerators can serve 800 people per month and prevent about a tonne of food from going to waste.
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