ENVIRONMENT
Groups lobby for dolphin
Environmentalists yesterday called for a proposal to expand a liquefied natural gas terminal in the port of Taichung to be reconsidered, saying that the project would jeopardize the critically endangered Taiwanese humpback dolphin. The proposal, made by Taiwan International Ports Co and Taiwan Power Co, entered a second-phase environmental impact assessment (EIA) on July 20 and construction is to begin if it makes it through the EIA process. The Taiwanese humpback dolphin was listed as “endangered” in May by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a scientific agency, and fewer than 70 of the marine mammals still exist, a statement by local environmental groups said. “Taiwan should make rehabilitation plans to keep the Taiwanese humpback dolphin safe from extinction,” the Alliance for the Protection of Taiwanese Humpback Dolphin and Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Taiwan, said in the statement.
DIPLOMACY
AIT director lands in Taiwan
Brent Christensen, the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) new director, on Saturday arrived in Taipei to assume his post. Upon his arrival, Christensen said that he was very happy to be back in Taiwan, adding that he looks forward to continuing to develop the many areas of US-Taiwan cooperation. In a video posted on Facebook on Friday by the AIT, Christensen said that he was very glad to have been stationed in Taiwan twice before in his diplomatic career. His first overseas post was with the AIT and 20 years later he was again stationed at AIT as its deputy director from 2012 to 2015, Christensen said, describing his return as “fate.”
SPORTS
Taiwan claims 18 medals
Taiwan collected a total of 18 medals, including 10 golds, at the Gay Games, which concluded in Paris on Saturday. Veteran gay rights campaigner Chi Chia-wei (祁家威), the honorary team leader for Taiwan, said that the achievements, which also included five silver and three bronze medals, were better than expected. Taiwan has a chance to bid to host the Games in 2026, he said, with the vote to take place at the annual general meeting of the Federation of Gay Games in 2021. Chi said that he hopes another Asian country would have the chance to host the Games after Hong Kong hosts them in 2022. About 10,317 people from 91 countries took part in the 10th Gay Games this year. Athletes competed in 36 sports. Taiwan was represented by 25 people, including 18 athletes competing in seven disciplines.
CHARITY
Students take on learning gap
A non-profit founded by Taiwanese studying in the US has been trying to raise awareness about the education gap between Taiwan’s urban and rural areas, and to have more people teach children in rural areas. Twenty-year-old Ko Han-wen (柯涵文), cofounder of Students for Taiwanese Educational Progress (STEP), yesterday said that she noticed the education gap between cities and rural areas during high school. Working with the Boyo Social Welfare Foundation, STEP last year held a winter camp at Tong-Fu Elementary School in Nantou County’s Sinyi Township (信義) and last month held a summer camp at the same location. Ko said the group chose to hold the camps at the same location to show the emphasis that STEP places on continuity in education and to continue to support the same group of children.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai