■ TRANSPORTATION
Kaohsiung mulls free MRT
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said yesterday that the city government could provide free travel on the city’s MRT system on certain Fridays. Chen told reporters after an administrative meeting yesterday morning that the city government was considering subsidizing passengers taking the MRT with the city’s air pollution fund. The city’s Environmental Protection Bureau has levied an “air pollution fee” from construction companies for their construction projects since July 1997. Chen said the city government was still deliberating details of the plan, but that the free rides were likely to be granted on certain Fridays, adding that it had also organized an “energy conservation and carbon dioxide emission task force.”
■ AVIATION
FAT loses domestic rights
The Civil Aeronautics Administration last night announced that the already cash-strapped Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) would lose the rights to all of its domestic flights for failing to meet conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. CAA Director-General Billy Chang (張國政) said that unless FAT finds an influx of capital by June 15, the airline’s international flights would also be suspended and that the CAA would revoke the company’s operating license. FAT is being penalized for its failure to pay monthly takeoff and landing fees for its airplanes, employees’ wages and other operational costs. Last month, the company made a surprise announcement that it would suspend operations.
■ CULTURE
Ma makes museum call
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has asked Miaoli County not to use his name for a planned museum dedicated to him, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said that Ma had talked with Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) by telephone and made the request personally. Ma also expressed the hope that Liu would talk with local historical and cultural experts to see if the county government would proceed. Ma has not yet decided whether to donate his personal belongs to the museum for display, Wang said. The Miaoli County Government came under fire after allocating NT$50 million (US$1.6 million) to build the museum in Tongsiao Township’s (通宵) Ma Village (馬家庄), a traditional village whose residents are mostly surnamed Ma. While Liu argued that the project would help boost tourism in the county, some slammed it as an attempt by Liu to fawn on Ma. Liu claimed Ma had called him to lend his support to the project. The Hong Kong-born Ma’s ancestors did not come from the village and none of his family has ever lived in the village.
■ FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Yuan tapped for US envoy
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday that it was consulting with Washington over the appointment of Jason Yuan (袁健生) as the next representative to the US. In his first reception with reporters, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) confirmed that Yuan, who has served as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) and the People First Party’s representative to the US since 2004, has been tapped by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration to be the nation’s representative in Washington. “Yuan is experienced and well connected in Washington and has a profound understanding of the political situation in the US, which makes him very suitable for the post,” Ou said. Deputy Representative to the US Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷) said he expects the US government to reply within “a reasonable period of time.”
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
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