Russia announced yesterday that the first direct charter flights between Taipei and Moscow will start Saturday, but stressed that this did not mean that it recognized Taiwan independence.
China Airlines will complete a maiden voyage to Moscow on Aug. 24, with Russia's private carrier Transaero staging its own charter flight to Taipei on Aug. 31, according to Russian media reports last month.
These flights "are exclusively a part of the unofficial, commercial air links which are part of an effort to expand unofficial trade and economic, as well as cultural and tourism ties with Taiwan," the Russian foreign ministry said.
"At the same time, Russia holds to a basic principle that is based on a principle of one China, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the only one which represents China, Taiwan being its integral part," it said in a statement.
The ministry added that regular commercial flights between the Russia and Taiwan would be launched if the first two flights were considered to be commercially viable.
CAL had earlier applied to Russian aviation authorities for a charter flight from Taipei to Moscow in August and another in September.
Aviation officials said Taiwan and Russia signed a draft aviation pact in 1993 but it was never formalized due to pressure from Beijing.
Beijing opposes any countries signing official air pacts with Taiwan, maintaining this would violate China's sovereignty.
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
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
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