Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that Taiwan's competitiveness has risen from 10th to fifth globally in the three and a half years that Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has been president.
At a meeting marking Architects' Day, Lu described Chen and herself as architects of the country who have helped the country progress.
According to Lu, a recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report ranked Taiwan's overall competitiveness fifth worldwide, compared with 10th in 2000.
The WEF also ranked Taiwan as the most competitive country in Asia for the second year in a row.
Lu said that architecture does not depend on materials alone, but requires a human touch as well.
She said she hopes that architecture in the future will depend on the interplay of high technology and the humanities; tradition and innovation; and localization and internationalization.
Meanwhile, Lu noted that at a time when countries are seeking to sign free trade agreements, Taiwan should accelerate its internationalization process to avoid being marginalized.
She said that Taiwanese people should not be pessimistic as they have created democratic and economic miracles in spite of having limited territory and resources, as well as having to face the diplomatic embargo imposed by Beijing.
Turning to China, Lu urged Taiwanese people not to forget the 496 missiles Beijing is aiming at Taiwan. Lu reminded the public that the number of missiles may rise to 650 in 2005.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
EVERYONE’S ISSUE: Kim said that during a visit to Taiwan, she asked what would happen if China attacked, and was told that the global economy would shut down Taiwan is critical to the global economy, and its defense is a “here and now” issue, US Representative Young Kim said during a roundtable talk on Taiwan-US relations on Friday. Kim, who serves on the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, held a roundtable talk titled “Global Ties, Local Impact: Why Taiwan Matters for California,” at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, California. “Despite its small size and long distance from us, Taiwan’s cultural and economic importance is felt across our communities,” Kim said during her opening remarks. Stanford University researcher and lecturer Lanhee Chen (陳仁宜), lawyer Lin Ching-chi
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
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