■Sport
Blind athletes win medals
Taiwan picked up a gold and a silver medal at the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) games underway in Quebec City, Canada. Lee Ching-chung (李青忠) won a gold in the men's 60kg judo competition, while Hu Hsin-chung (胡馨中) grabbed a silver medal in the women's 200m breaststroke competition. Liang Keng-chin (梁耿縉) qualified for the final of the men's 100m dash event but did not win a medal. In the men's javelin competition scheduled for tomorrow, Chiang Chih-chung (江志忠) has a chance to grab another gold medal, delegation officials said. The IBSA games opened Aug. 1 and will finish on Tuesday.
■ Diplomacy
Examination chief in Britain
Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) arrived in London Thursday night for a five-day visit to study British civil-servant training and the UK's retirement pension system. Yao is one of the few high-ranking Taiwanese officials to have visited the UK in the last few years. Yao's London visit is also to encourage qualified financial institutions to bid on Taiwan's pension fund investment operations. He stressed that any financial institution company with long-term good credit, which has a client service team in Taiwan, is qualified to bid in the investment operations. Yao said the opening of pension fund investments to foreign companies is to diversify the investment risks.
■ National security
Alleged spy convicted
A court in southwest China has sentenced a man to 18 years in jail for spying for Taiwan, amid increased accusations and counter-accusations between the two sides, the court said yesterday. Xu Jianchi (許劍池) was sentenced at the No. 1 Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing, a court official said, adding only that the sentencing took place "recently." Xu had amassed a large quantity of intelligence about Chinese political and military affairs, handing it over to Taiwanese authorities, the China News Service reported. Xu, who previously served an eight-year term for "harming national security," had received training and funding by Taiwanese agents, the news service said.
■ Travel
Apply early for US visas
Noting that there will undoubtedly be additional changes to the US visa process in the coming months and years, Keith Powell, acting deputy director of the American Institute in Taiwan, yesterday encouraged people planning travel to the US to apply for visas early. It usually takes three to six business days to process a visa application. Changes that have recently been implemented in a bid to strengthen security against terrorism include requiring personal interviews from a larger number of travelers than before and suspending the visa-free transit program.
■ Diplomacy
Taiwan highly praised
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves reaffirmed Thursday that relations between his country and Taiwan are solid and that Taiwan has contributed a lot to the development of his country. Gonsalves made the remarks while hosting a dinner in honor of Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新). Gonsalves stressed that friendship between the two countries is firm, saying that his country is satisfied with all the support Taiwan has provided the country in the past, including the cooperation in agricultural technology.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
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