■ POLITICS
Date set for KMT assets poll
A referendum on recovering stolen assets from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will be held jointly with the legislative elections on Jan. 12 next year, the Central Election Commission said yesterday. Although commission member Liu Kuang-hua (劉光華), who had been recommended by the pan-blue camp, objected to combining the referendum on recovering the stolen party assets with voting for legislators, the commission members voted eight to two in favor of the combined vote. One member abstained. The commission also decided that all referendums approved before Dec. 12 this year will likely be combined with the legislative elections, while those approved before Feb. 22 will likely be combined with the presidential election on March 22.
■ SOCIETY
Gondola concert planned
A concert to celebrate the popularity of the Maokong gondola is to be held on Monday night at the Taipei Zoo Station, with the gondola expected to carry its millionth passenger over the Mid-Autumn festival, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) said. The corporation has invited pop stars including Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) and F.I.R to perform at the concert, which is to be held from 6pm to 8pm in the parking lot outside the gondola's Taipei Zoo Station, a TRTC official said. The gondola had carried a total of 870,000 passengers by the end of last week, and the figure is expected to reach 1 million over the Mid-Autumn festival, which starts on Sept. 25, the official said. The 4km-long cable car system was launched on July 4.
■ TRAFFIC
Taipei holds Car Free Day
Taipei City's Department of Transportation yesterday reminded the public to heed today's Taipei Car Free Day activities. A 12km bicycle ride from Taipei County Plaza to Taipei City Plaza will be held this morning, and traffic controls will be implemented from 7am to 12pm on Renai, Zhongshan S, Aiguo W, and Zhonghua roads, as well as Bangka, Huacuei Bridge and Xianmin boulevards. Cars will be prohibited from entering the Dinghao Business District (Zhongxiao E Road Sec 4 near Fuxing S and Dunhua S roads) from 10am to 4pm, as it will be a pedestrian-only area during the event, the department said. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp will give 20 percent discount to passengers who take their bicycles on the MRT today to encourage more people to cycle. In addition to the 15 MRT stations that already allow passengers to board with bicycles, the company will allow passengers to board with bicycles at Taipei City Hall Station and Banciao Station between 6am and 8am today.
■ CULTURE
Green Island plans festival
A two-day human rights arts festival is to be held on Green Island on Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 to entertain visitors with a blend of art and history, the Council for Cultural Affairs said yesterday. The festival, organized jointly by the council and Taitung County's Cultural Affairs Bureau, has been held annually for the past two years. The festival this year will feature performances by the Lanyang Taiwanese Opera Troupe, Taiwan Folksong Jazz Band and renowned Taiwanese oldies singers Wen Shia (文夏), Wen Hsiang (文香), Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑) and Chen Ming-chang (陳明章). Art works by former political prisoners once jailed in the Green Island Prison will be exhibited along with the works 20 domestic and international artists created during their stay on the island.
■ WEATHER
Nari no threat to Taiwan
Typhoon Nari, the 11th storm in the western Pacific this year, will not pose a direct threat to Taiwan but may increase the chances of rain in northern and northeastern areas, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Bureau meteorologists said the eye of Nari was located 140km south-southwest of Naha in Okinawa, Japan, at 2pm yesterday and was moving west-northwest at 24kph, though its speed is expected to slow to 20kph today. The typhoon had a 50km radius, with maximum center winds of 40m per second and gusts reaching 50m per second, the weather experts said. They added that although Nari is not a direct threat to Taiwan, the circulation around the typhoon's structure will bring rain. They predicted that from today to Monday, Nari may gradually change direction from northwest to northeast and head toward Korea and Japan. Foreign wire service reports said that Japan Airlines canceled 14 flights to and from Okinawa yesterday because of the typhoon, affecting 5,300 passengers.
■ CRIME
Taiwanese arrested in HK
Hong Kong police said yesterday they had arrested three Australians and four Taiwanese in connection with 2,400 counterfeit Kuwaiti dinar notes with a face value of 48,000 dinars (US$170,800). A bank in the territory's Central financial district told police on Monday it had received 300 suspected fake 20 dinar notes, police said. On Thursday, police arrested an Australian and a Taiwanese at the bank as they tried to deposit 2,100 more fake notes, they said in a statement. Two other Australians and three Taiwanese were later arrested, they said. The fake notes were made by a toner technique, which produces the same quality as laser printing, the authorities said. Police did not identify the suspects, saying that they were being held for further questioning.
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Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
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