Opponents of pension reform will not stage protests outside the venue hosting the Summer Universiade’s closing ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan Veteran Rights Protection Association president Huang Cheng-chung (黃正忠) said yesterday, amid criticism that protesters disrupted the opening ceremony on Saturday.
“We will not be back on Aug. 30, but we will use this period to let Taiwanese know that we are being stigmatized by the government and that we are not rioters,” said Huang, one of the organizers of Saturday’s demonstration, during which protesters clashed with police and blocked foreign athletes entering the Taipei Municipal Stadium, where the opening ceremony was held.
“We will not return here [the stadium], but I have applied for legal road rights and will go to [President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文)] official residence to protest and force her to listen to our demands,” he said.
Huang’s remarks came after the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported that reform opponents intended to protest the closing ceremony, with Premier Lin Chuan (林全) on Sunday saying that any further disruptions of the Games would be met with an “iron fist” and detentions.
Saturday’s protests represented the culmination of more than a month of demonstrations which saw the use of smoke bombs and attempts to block Tsai’s motorcade as protesters followed through on a promise to follow her “like a shadow.”
Huang yesterday denied that protesters had set off the smoke bomb or threatened participants.
“We were blocked by a police line. The smoke bomb went off behind them; how are we supposed to have gotten through?” he said, urging the Taipei City Police Department to release any footage of the incident.
“Charging through would have been an impossibility and there was no way for us to reach the athletes,” Huang added.
Some groups that had previously opposed pension reform legislation have distanced themselves from the Universiade protesters, with the 800 Heroes group of military veterans saying they will not take part in any protests aimed at disrupting the Games.
National Federation of Teachers’ Unions director-general Huang Yao-nan (黃耀南) and National Civil Servant Association president Harry Lee (李來希) participated in Saturday’s protests in a personal capacity, with the teachers’ union reportedly declining to support the Universiade protesters.
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