■ TRANSPORT
Passenger sues over pets
A passenger has filed an administrative lawsuit against the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) because it allows people to bring pets on trains. The administration has been ordered to present an official response within 10 days, TRA Deputy Director-General Chang Ying-huei (張應輝) said yesterday. Chang said this was the first lawsuit to be brought against the TRA because of one of its policies. Court documents show the passenger claims that the implementation of the policy infringes on his rights as a passenger, Chang said. The TRA has been allowing passengers to board trains with their pets since July 1 in response to a request from the legislature. Before its implementation, the administration had said it would evaluate the policy for three months. The administration has conducted two surveys among passengers, in both of which passengers opposing the policy outnumbered those supporting it.
■CULTURE
Bands head to Tainan County
The 15th Asia-Pacific Band Music Festival opens in Tainan County on Saturday, with bands from 27 countries and 152 local groups scheduled to perform during the week-long event. Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) said the festival would be the biggest to date, with more than 10,000 band members expected to attend. Su said the festival presented a great opportunity for local band enthusiasts to learn from some of the world’s best performers. The opening day of the festival will feature a band music parade in the neighborhood of the Nan-Ying Green Heart Esplanade Park, the organizers said. The festival is being organized by the Tainan County Government and the Taiwan Band Association. More information is available on the Tainan County Government Cultural Affairs Bureau’s Web site at www.tnc.gov.tw/apbda.
■POLITICS
Poll shows support for bears
A government survey yesterday showed that 56 percent of respondents are in favor of bringing pandas from China to Taiwan, and that almost 31 percent consider the end of the year to be the best time for the animals’ arrival. The survey, conducted by the Cabinet’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, sampled 977 people aged 20 or older. A hundred people refused to answer questions in the survey. The results showed that 60 percent of respondents said pandas would help boost the nation’s tourism industry, while 47 percent said the pandas would facilitate cross-strait reconciliation. Sixty-two percent of those interviewed said that hosting the pandas would increase public knowledge of animal protection, and 54 percent said local zoos would be capable of taking care of the animals.
■SOCIETY
Jolin to host fundraiser
Singer Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) will host a fundraising event for worldwide famine relief in Taipei on Aug. 16, a local charity organization said. The campaign, sponsored by World Vision Taiwan, will be held at National Taiwan University. Tsai also acts as a spokeswoman for the campaign. World Vision, an international Christian relief and development organization, hopes to raise NT$150 million (US$4.9 million) at the fundraiser to promote its cause. Some of the proceeds will be allocated to assist children of HIV/AIDS sufferers, children and families affected by war, disadvantaged Taiwanese families and typhoon victims, the organizers said. More information is available on the charity’s Web site, www.worldvision.org.tw.
■ DIPLOMACY
No confirmation on envoys
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will consult the governments of Singapore and Japan regarding the appointment of new representatives as a matter of protocol and would make a formal announcement, probably by the end of this month. “Given the fact that nations such as the United States, Japan and Singapore are ‘indicator countries,’ it is a diplomatic norm for us to notify and consult with these countries before deploying representatives,” ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said yesterday. He would not confirm reports that former National Security Bureau director Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐) has been chosen as the new representative to Singapore and former National Security Council adviser Yang Jung-ming (楊永明) would be sent to Japan. He said the foreign minister would evaluate the other diplomatic vacancies, such as posts in Europe, based on the interest and competence of the candidates.
■TRANSPORT
Gondola to get timed tickets
The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) announced yesterday that it will introduce a timed ticket system on weekends for the Maokong Gondola next month to reduce the long lines of people waiting to ride the cable cars. TRTC vice president Zhao Hsiung-fei (趙雄飛) said starting on Aug. 2 people would be able to go to two locations to draw tickets giving them the time slots for their rides: one will be at the entrance to the Taipei Zoo MRT station while the other would be the ticket window of the gondola’s Taipei Zoo stop. The TRTC would also install two monitors at the gondola’s Taipei Zoo Station to provide information about time slots, he said. The cable car system has carried more than 5.2 million passengers since it opened on July 4 last year.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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