■ Education
Academic ties boosted
Representatives from the social science and humanities graduate school under Taiwan's National Chengchi University and the international relations institute under Peking University inked an agreement yesterday to boost two-way academic exchanges. Under the agreement, the two parties will start exchanges of professors and graduate school students with financial assistance from the private sector. The privately run New Hope Cross-Strait Academic Exchanges Association has initially contributed NT$1 million to help promote the cause, Shao said, adding that he hopes to set up periodic point-to-point exchanges and systematic research mechanisms between universities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
■ Agriculture
Dujuan losses top NT$1.3bn
Agricultural losses caused by Typhoon Dujuan had exceeded NT$1.35 billion as of yesterday morning, with fruit crops bearing the brunt of the damage, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said. According to COA Vice Chairman Lee Chien-chuan (李健全), the hardest-hit crops included pears, apples, wax apples (bell fruit), jujubes and bananas. Initial reports show that many fruit farms in the counties of Taitung, Pingtung and Taichung could be eligible for cash relief, while fruit farms in Hualien and Nantou counties could receive low-interest loans, Lee said. Noting that fruit crops are highly substitutable, Lee said he is convinced that domestic fruit prices will not rise sharply since imported fruits remain abundant. Lee said Typhoon Dujuan has not seriously affected the country's major vegetable production areas.
■ China
Convicted spy imprisoned
A Chinese court has imprisoned a man for 15 years for gathering military intelligence for Taiwan, the Beijing Times said yesterday. The People's High Court in the eastern province of Jiangsu had recently rejected an appeal by Ma Peiming, who turns 29 this month, and upheld a 15-year prison term meted out in June, the newspaper said. Ma was arrested in February for "seriously endangering national security" and had admitted gathering military intelligence in cities across China, it said. It said Taiwan intelligence had trained Ma during an overseas trip in October 2000, adding that he had received more than US$20,000 and surveillance equipment from Taiwan between 2000 and last year. It gave no further details.
■ Armed forces
Nation's martyrs honored
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) presided over a ceremony at the Yuanshan Martyrs Shrine in suburban Taipei yesterday in remembrance of the nation's war dead as part of Armed Forces Day celebrations. Chen burned incense, presented a wreath and led various senior officials in bowing three times in respect before the altar dedicated to all those who have died for the nation's cause. Senior officials attending the ceremony included Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and Premier Yu Shyi-kun. Also present were legislators, military representatives and families of the war dead. After the ceremony, Chen extended his condolences and regards to the representatives of the dead soldiers' families. Similar rituals were also held at martyr shrines around the country, including one at a hillside military cemetery in Taipei County and one at scenic Chengching Lake in Kaohsiung County.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
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