ECONOMIC DRIVE: Deputy MAC Chairman Liu Teh-hsun said that as 11 Chinese cities allow Taiwanese tourists entry on landing visas, it made sense to reciprocate
By Ko Shu-Ling
National security will not be compromised if Chinese are granted landing visas when visiting Kinmen and Matsu, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.

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WAITING GAME: KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao said that he believed the government’s approval rating would improve given time to carry out its policies
By Rich Chang
A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) survey conducted on the eve of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 100th day in office found that his approval rating has plummeted to 36.9 percent, with his disapproval rating standing at 57 percent.

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By Loa Lok-Sin
The Alliance for Fair Tax Reform (AFTR) yesterday slammed a recent TV commercial claiming that lower tax rates correlate with a strong economy, and challenged the anonymous advertiser to a public debate.

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Several Taipei City councilors blasted city traffic lights yesterday, claiming that they were operated in an “inhuman” way, as half of the devices in the capital signal red for at least 100 seconds, forcing people to breathe exhaust fumes as they wait for the lights to change.

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ETHNIC CONFLICT: The Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) on the boat is still turned on, so officials can still trace the boat’s location and pass the data on to MOFA
By Meggie Lu
The suspected hijacking of a Taiwanese fishing boat by foreign crewmen has once again brought into focus the fact that many of the country’s fishing boats are now entirely staffed by foreign workers, which could create the possibility of ethnic conflict and mutiny.

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REACHING OUT A report by the MOTC showed that approximately 1.53 million overseas tourists came to Taiwan between January and June of this year
By Shelley Shan
Tourists from Japan and South Korea can now read street signs and hear street broadcasts in their own languages when visiting Jioufen (九份) in Taipei County, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.

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‘Fake it, ‘til you make it’ is UNI Radio FM 96.7 head Hung Chia-Chun’s favorite motto. ‘Taipei Times’ staff reporter Elizabeth Tchii recently conducted a telephone interview with the 25 year-old CEO of this Hsinchu County-based radio broadcasting company and learned of his ambitions for the station
Taipei Times: You lost your father in January to gastric cancer and were forced to step into his rather large shoes. How did you cope?
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