■ POLITICS
Vice minister to be replaced
Elizabeth Chu (朱玉鳳), director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' protocol department, will replace Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Katharine Chang (張小月), Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday. Chang has been tapped to be the nation's next representative to the UK. Chu's vacancy will be filled by Liu Yi-min (劉宜民), director-general of the Department of European Affairs, Huang said. Huang said that it is a global trend to have female managers and that he was impressed by Chu's "proactive" work ethic and "outstanding" performance over the years. Huang revealed that there will be a second wave of personnel reshuffles, emphasizing that he will not hesitate to release officials who are not suitable for their jobs.
■ TRANSPORT
Taipei taxi fares rise today
Starting today, taxi fares in Taipei City will increase, with the previous nighttime rate applying around the clock. Passengers will also be required to pay an additional NT$20 on metered fares between 11pm and 6am. Also starting today, Taipei City Government's Parking Management Office will start issuing scooter parking fee slips in different colors. The slips will be a different color for each day of the week. The Parking Management Office hopes the measure will make it less likely that parking wardens will forget to issue parking slips, and put an end to scooter owners using old slips to trick parking wardens into not issuing a new slip.
■ CULTURE
Hakka conference opens
More than 300 Hakka community leaders from around the world gathered in Taipei yesterday for the opening of the 2007 Hakka Community Leaders' Conference. The conference, organized by the World Hakka Federation, welcomed Hakka community delegates from more than 30 countries on six continents. In his opening remarks, federation president and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) said the number of Hakka speakers is declining and urged all Hakka to unite and work to preserve their culture and language. Several others speakers voiced similar concerns. In the afternoon session, Hakka community leaders presented papers on issues specific to their communities. The conference ends today.
■ SOCIETY
Development fund launched
The Council of Indigenous Peoples launched the application process for its Aboriginal community development project fund yesterday. Council Minister Icyang Parod said at a news conference in Taipei that communities within the 29 Aboriginal mountain townships and the 25 Aboriginal plains townships were qualified to apply for money from the fund. Communities interested in receiving funds may submit their community development plan, with a special focus on culture, ecology and the economy, to township offices for initial review before Nov. 30, Icyang said. Through a strict evaluation process, a list of 23 communities qualified for the funding would be announced at the end of February, Icyang said, adding that each qualified community would be entitled to receive a NT$2 million (US$62,000) development fund. During the past three years since the program started, 79 Aboriginal communities across the country have received the money and most have used it well, Icyang said.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS