■ POLITICS
Premier warns vote-buyers
With the legislative elections approaching, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) urged law enforcement officials yesterday to catch as many vote-buyers as possible. The premier was speaking during a seminar on combating vote-buying for prosecutors and police. He also asked officials to maintain neutrality during their operations and said he was expecting higher standards among legislators in the next term as a result of the crackdown.
■ DEFENSE
Destroyers on show
The Navy will put one of its Kidd-class destroyers on display tomorrow, while reporters will board another one during a six-hour exercise in the Taiwan Strait. The nation has four Kidd-class destroyers, based in Suao (蘇澳), Ilan County. All commissioned on Nov. 2 last year. Naval officials said the Kidd-class vessels were now the flagship of the naval battle group during missions because they are capable of coordinating battleships, submarines and aircraft. Although the ships were built 20 years ago, a Navy spokesperson said that good maintenance would allow the vessels to stay operational for at least another 20 years.
■ TRAVEL
Cross-strait flights planned
China Airlines (CAL) and Mandarin Airlines will offer four round-trip charter flights to Shanghai during the Moon Festival, a CAL spokesman said yesterday. The two carriers will use a Boeing 747-400S to fly between Taipei and Shanghai between Sept. 22 and Sept. 30, the spokesman said. The Moon Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, falls on Sept. 25. "The scheduled flights are 80 percent to 90 percent booked. We are pleased by the demand," the spokesman said. Under an agreement signed between China and Taiwan, six carriers from each side are allowed to provide non-stop charter passenger services during the Lunar New Year, Tomb Sweeping Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. The relaxation makes it easier for Taiwanese who are working in China to return home for the holidays.
■ PPLITICS
Yu to attend Osaka meet
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun left for Japan yesterday to attend the annual convention of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations in Osaka. The party said Yu is expected to deliver a speech during the convention on the normalization of the country and boost support for the party in the upcoming legislative and presidential elections. "I will campaign for the DPP's presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and vice presidential candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) there. I hope Taiwanese from around the world will return to Taiwan to vote for the DPP candidates," he said when approached for comment at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday morning.
■ LABOR
Fire damages dormitory
A fire broke out yesterday at a dormitory for foreign workers at a construction company in the northern part of the country, but there were no reports of casualties, police said. Fire engulfed the 200-ping (660m2) dormitory of CTCI Corp in Kuanyin Township (觀音), Taoyuan County, before it was brought under control by firefighters. Most of the foreign employees were at work when the fire broke out and the few left behind managed to escape, police said. Authorities said they were still investigating the cause of the fire.
■ SOCIETY
Farmer dies in accident
A 72-year-old farmer, Liao Jen-fu (廖仁富), died after he fell into a ditch while he was taking his two grandchildren, aged three and four, home on a truck in Miaoli on Sunday afternoon. The four-year-old grandchild's left shoulder and right ear were injured and the three-year-old grandchild suffered a swollen eye. As the incident happened in a remote area, nobody was available nearby to offer immediate first aid when they fell into the ditch, police said. Liao and his grandchildren were not discovered until approximately an hour after they fell into the ditch, police said.
■ TRAVEL
No entry for hairy crabs
Travelers arriving in Taiwan are not allowed to bring hairy crabs into the country from China or anywhere else, officials from the Kaohsiung Customs Office said yesterday. As it is high season for hairy crabs from China -- also known as Dazha crabs (大閘蟹) -- which are highly sought after by gastronomes, many Taiwanese tourists try to bring them into the country when they return from China. Customs officials said the crabs have been prohibited from being brought in by travelers since last October after traces of carcinogens and other banned substances were detected in crabs imported from China.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
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