■ Cross-strait ties
Anti-missile rally tomorrow
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) announced yesterday that the ministry will organize a carnival-style rally in Taipei tomorrow, calling on peace-loving people around the world to jointly urge Beijing to dismantle its missiles targeting Taiwan. Chien said that the projected gathering, dubbed "People United for Love and Peace," will be staged at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Chien invited all of his compatriots and foreign residents who love Taiwan to participate in the rally to urge China to dismantle the 400 missiles targeting Taiwan and stop deploying more missiles. The minister also called on all of those who are informed of the gathering to write to their friends living abroad, urging them to ask lawmakers of their respective constituencies, government officials, media and international organizations to join the appeal.
■ Search and rescue
Coast guard gets new ship
A locally designed and built self-righting search-and-rescue boat joined the national coast guard fleet yesterday to help beef up its disaster-relief capabilities. The submarine-like vessel, which can right itself in rough seas, was completely developed and manufactured by a private shipbuilding firm in Suao in the county of Ilan. The Cabinet-level Coast Guard Administration (CGA) took delivery of the boat in a ceremony held at the Suao fishing port. It was believed to be the first ship of its kind to be commissioned into service in Asia, coast guard officers said. The CGA has commissioned Lungteh Co to build three self-righting search-and-rescue boats. The remaining two ships will be delivered before the end of this year. CGA officials said most advanced countries have similar high-performance rescue boats.
■ International aid
Czech Republic gives thanks
Czech Culture Minister Pavel Dostal met with Roy Wu (烏元彥), the Taiwan representative to the Czech Republic, on Wednesday to thank the nation for its assistance in his country's post-flood reconstruction efforts. Taiwan's government has donated US$220,000 to the Czech Republic since the central European country was hit by its worst flood in a century in August of this year. "We appreciate your country's generous aid," Dostal told Wu, adding that he wanted to express on behalf of the Czech government and people their heartfelt gratitude. The funds donated by Taiwan have been used for humanitarian relief, cultural relics rehabilitation, school reconstruction and repair of environmental-protection facilities. Taiwan's Council for Cultural Affairs has taken the lead in donating US$20,000 to help rebuild a bridge in the popular Czech tourist city of Cesky Krumlov.
■ Direct links
Lin says Taiwan ready to talk
Taiwan is fully prepared to hold talks with China on opening direct trade, transport and postal links at an appropriate time, Vice Premier Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) said yesterday. Lin made the remarks when answering questions from lawmakers at the Economics and Energy Committee after making a report on the central government's budget allocations. Saying that remarks by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Premier Yu Shyi-kun a day earlier that "direct links are not a panacea for Taiwan's economy" had hit the nail on the head, Lin added that the key to an improved economy was a better investment climate and sharpened competitiveness among local firms.
Agencies
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
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
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
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit