■Direct links
Construction sector upbeat
The domestic construction sector expressed hope yesterday for direct links with China and urged the government to seize the opportunity to set up links as soon as possible. Lai Cheng-i (賴正鎰), chairman of the Taiwan Construction Development Federation, said that with the end of Saturday's Taipei and Kaohsiung mayor and council elections, the government now should move swiftly to establish direct trade, transport and postal links with China to stimulate the economy. According to Lai, the domestic business community has high expectations for the links, which are widely viewed as an effective way to attract tourists from across the Strait and to help boost industry, including the real estate market.
■ Airport
CAA rejects Sungshan
Although Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has won re-election as mayor of Taipei, his idea of making the city's Sungshan Airport a base for cross-strait flights is unfeasible because of technical problems, an aviation official said yesterday. Noting that whether the airport should be one of the airports used for cross-strait flights is a political question to be answered by the central government, Chang Kuo-cheng (張國政), director-general of the Civil Aero-nautics Administration (CAA), said that the airport is incapable of accommodating heavy flight traffic given that it has only one runway, no customs and no extra land for expansion. The airport's limited capacity is also the reason why it is used only for domestic flights, Chang said. The government favors an election proposal of the DPP's unsuccessful mayoral candidate Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), who advocated the relocation of the airport to Taoyuan.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his