SAUDI ARABIA
Taiwanese eligible for e-visa
Taiwan is to be included in Saudi Arabia’s electronic travel authority (e-visa) program, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, touting the measure as facilitating tourism between the two nations. Saudi Arabia had earlier that day announced the e-visa measure, opening its doors to tourists from 49 countries and territories. Under the new program, Republic of China passport holders can apply for a travel permit to the Islamic nation on its e-visa Web site, on which applicants must complete a form and pay a fee with a credit card, the ministry said in a statement. The online system replies via e-mail if the application is approved, the ministry said, adding that Saudi Arabia has not yet announced when the e-visa program would be introduced. The program is only intended for tourists, so those needing a business visa must apply at the Saudi Arabian Trade Office in Taipei, the ministry said.
JAPAN
Taiwanese killed in crash
A Taiwanese tourist died in a head-on crash on Thursday in Okinawa, local news station Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting reported on Friday. The crash happened at about 3pm on Thursday on National Route 58 near Onna Village, a popular tourist resort in Okinawa. A Taiwanese woman was killed and her husband, the driver, was injured, the station said. The deceased woman, Kuo Chuan-hsiu (郭娟秀), was sitting in the back seat of a rented minivan when her husband, surnamed Tang (唐), crossed the centerline when making a right turn and hit another minivan head-on, it said. Kuo, 50, sustained head injuries and was pronounced dead an hour after arriving at a hospital, while Tang incurred a minor chest injury, it said. The couple’s 10-year-old son, also a passenger in the minivan, was uninjured, it added. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had contacted the family and would provide assistance.
IMMIGRATION
Vietnamese group detained
Forty-two illegal migrants from Vietnam on board a tour bus bound for Nantou were arrested in Tainan on Thursday last week, the National Immigration Agency. The arrests were made after a tip-off was received that a group of migrants were returning to the county after touring southern and southeastern Taiwan, the agency’s Tainan branch said. The group, all of whom have allegedly been residing illegally in Taiwan, had apparently booked a tour bus for a three-day, two-night trip to Taitung County and Kenting, the agency said. With the assistance of the freeway patrol, authorities identified and pulled over the tour bus at the Guanmiao Service Area on the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3), and arrested the Vietnamese, it said.
SOCIETY
Filipina wins second award
Filipina Melinda Babaran is to collect her second Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants today, after also winning last year. Babaran is to be presented with the Choice Award for a poem titled Kapirasong Papel, which she wrote in the voice of a man whose wife has been having an affair while working abroad. The inspiration came to her when she overheard a woman in her dormitory screaming on the telephone at her husband because he was having an affair while the woman was working in Taiwan, she said. Babaran works in a semiconductor factory in Taoyuan and has been in Taiwan for 12 years. This year, the judges received 680 submissions and prizes were awarded to eight winners in nine categories.
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