■ECONOMY
ECFA may take years: Ma
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) his administration seeks to sign with Beijing could take up to five years to complete. Ma said his administration hoped to sign the economic pact with Beijing and was in the process of holding seminars to promote it and solicit support. He said Taiwan’s overall economy had shown signs of improvement and that the public should rest assured because the fundamentals were sound. However, Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) yesterday said unemployment could reach 6 percent by September. Whether the economy would rebound would require an increase in domestic demand, US market recovery and opportunities in the Chinese market, he said. Siew warned that economic measures would not guarantee an improvement in the unemployment rate and that it could take at least six months to see the unemployment rate catch up with the economic recovery.
■TRAVEL
Thailand trips discouraged
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday changed its travel alert to Bangkok and a few selected provinces and areas in Thailand from yellow to orange, urging the public to defer trips to those places. The Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) said the orange alert covers Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom, Ayutthaya, as well as areas in northern Thailand such as Chiangmai, Chiangrai, Phrae, Phitsanu Lok, Lam Pang and Lam Phun, along with the four northeastern provinces. This is the first time that the ministry has issued a travel warning to individual cities and provinces instead of the entire country. The change from yellow to orange came as protesters have agreed to temporarily halt their rallies and many demonstrators have dispersed. Taiwanese nationals who need emergency assistance while in Thailand can contact the representative office at 002-66-81-666-4006.
■POLITICS
Sunday rally planned
Pro-localization groups yesterday said they would hold a rally in Kaohsiung on Sunday to protest the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s China-leaning policies. The rally is also a “warm up” for a large-scale protest planned for May 17, the groups said. The groups yesterday held a press conference, saying they had conducted 15 rallies nationwide to “wake up” Taiwanese who are suffering from a loss of sovereignty and Taiwanese identity under the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Former presidential adviser Koo Kuang-min (辜寬敏) said that even though Ma supported ultimate reunification with China, he still earned more than 7 million votes in last year’s presidential election, and this was a big setback for pro-localization groups. The groups therefore have been holding a number of rallies nationwide to communicate with the public and re-energize the independence movement.
■HEALTH
Water heaters pose threat
A sample survey showed that the placement of hot water heaters in 34,000 of 960,000 households could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, Executive Yuan spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said yesterday. Su said that the Executive Yuan would subsidize 14,428 households to the tune of NT$3,000 each to relocate the hot water heaters. The survey was conducted by the Ministry of Education last month, with questionnaires given to students in 923 junior high schools.
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)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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