■ DEFENSE
Cooperating with France
Minister of National Defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) yesterday denied that the ministry was planning to carry out the "Diamond Plan" with France, but said that military cooperation and communication between Taiwan and France had never stopped. "The `Diamond Plan' was a research project conducted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Aero-space Industrial Development Corp [漢翔公司]. It has nothing to do with us," Tsai told the legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday morning. Tsai was responding to a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文), who asked him about a plan to purchase French-made Dassault Rafale fighters, upgrade the navy's Lafayette-class frigates and purchase French-made mine-sweepers. "I cannot reveal any more details because our relationship with France concerns national security. But I assure you that we have been doing our best," Tsai said.
■ ELECTION
Survey ban to begin
A Taipei City official warned yesterday that after tomorrow it is illegal to publish the results of opinion polls relating to the March 22 presidential election. Neither political parties nor individuals are allowed to publish opinion poll data associated with the presidential and vice presidential candidates in the 10 days before the polls, said Jason Yeh (葉傑生), director of Taipei City's election commission. The Election and Recall Act also bars such data from being reported, disseminated, commented on or cited within the 10-day period, Yeh said. Violators will face fines of between NT$500,000 (US$16,249) and NT$5 million, Yeh said.
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
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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