Air raid drill: Sirens to be tested today
An air-raid warning drill is scheduled to be staged in the Taiwan and Penghu today to test the efficiency of the country's warning system, the Air Force General Headquarters announced yesterday. As today's drill is not part of the annual "Wanan" air-defense exercises, only the monotone "all clear" siren signal will be sounded for one and a half minutes, during which time pedestrians will not be required to get off the streets and drivers of vehicles will not need to follow air-raid procedures, the Air Force said. In the case of a real air attack occurring during the drill, Air Force officials said, the drill will be suspended immediately and an emergency air-raid siren will be sounded in accordance with required procedures. The emergency air-raid signal is a monotone sound lasting for 15 seconds, followed by two shorter ones each lasting for five seconds. The pattern is repeated three times with two five-second intervals, the officials said.
Culture: Poet Derek Walcott to visit
Nobel laureate Derek Walcott will arrive in Taipei on Friday for a 10-day visit. The St. Lucia-born writer has said that he made up his mind to become a poet at the age of eight. He has published 21 collections of poetry, as well as more than 30 plays and volumes of essays during more than 50 years of creative writing. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1992. Walcott is famous not only for his poetry, but also for the low, guttural voice in which he recites his poetry. At the invitation of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taipei, the 72-year-old Walcott will present a poetry recital Saturday at Chung Shan Hall in Taipei. On Sunday he will join renowned poets Yu Kuang-chung (余光中), Cheng Chou-yu (鄭愁予) and Shih Chia-chang (施家彰) for a round-table seminar.
Travel: Ministry issues warning
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged people to avoid traveling to the Ivory Coast in West Africa due to security concerns. Ministry officials said heavy gun battles broke out in the commercial capital of Abidjan and in several other cities last Thursday during a military coup attempt. At least 270 people have been killed and more than 300 others injured in the violence, according to wire service reports. Quoting information from Taiwan's trade service center in the Ivory Coast, ministry officials said none of the 50 or so Taiwanese in the country have suffered any attacks or financial losses in the violence.
Diplomacy: Lu 'good for Gambia'
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday told John Paul Bojang, Gambia's new ambassador to Taiwan, that Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) has been promoting Gambia's international image. "During her recent diplomatic trip to Indonesia, our Vice President has dressed in a number of beautiful costumes which were made from Gambian fabrics," Chen told Bojang at the Presidential Office. "The fact that Taiwan's vice president wears Gambian outfits in public symbolizes the friendship between Taiwan and Gambia," the president added. He made the remarks in a ceremony held at the Presidential Office, where Bojang presented his credentials to the president. Chen said that since the vice president likes to promote Gambia's tourism and clothing industry, she is a type of spokesperson for these industries, "and I believe that she could also become the best spokesperson for Gambia."
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the