■ SOCIETY
Hiker dies on Mount Fuji
The body of a Taiwanese-American who went missing last weekend while climbing Mount Fuji in Japan has been found, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that it would offer all necessary assistance to the victim’s family. A Japanese rescue team found the body of Jerry Yu (余宗佑), 30, who was working in Tokyo and went missing during a climb with a group of 20 colleagues, said Peter Tsai (蔡明耀), secretary-general of the ministry’s Association of East Asian Relations. “We received information from Japan that Yu’s body was found at the bottom of a cliff,” Tsai said. “The foreign ministry is now helping members of Yu’s family go to Japan.”
■ HEALTH
DOH works on care policy
The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday launched a panel to work toward a long-term care insurance program. The panel’s main tasks will be to draft a law to create the program by the end of next year, said Day Guey-ing (戴桂英), the group’s deputy convener. The Cabinet has estimated that in the next 10 years, the demand for caregivers will be between 12,000 and 62,000. Asia University vice president Yang Chih-liang (楊志良), one of the planners of the program, said people would most likely be required to hire licensed caregivers if they want to claim insurance coverage. This would affect people who hire foreign workers at lower wages who are not licensed as caregivers, Yaung said. In addition, insurance payments to people who hire licensed foreign caregivers would probably be half the sum paid out to those who hire local workers, he said. This would prevent an influx of foreign caregivers that would drive down salaries for local caregivers or make them less competitive, he said.
■ TRANSPORTATION
Flight routes to change
Starting Wednesday, cross-strait flights will take routes decided on in a deal inked at cross-strait negotiations in April. Civil Aeronautics Administration Director-General Lee Lung-wen (李龍文) said yesterday that flights to and from Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing and Hangzhou would continue to take a northern route already in use. On this route, Taiwan and China exchange flight control at a navigation point called “Sulem.” Flights to and from Guangzhou, Xiamen and other southern cities that cross Hong Kong air space will now communicate directly with Guangzhou, with flight control exchanging at a point called “Oldid.” Another northern route will be added, with flight control exchanged at a point called “Salmi.” Flights will proceed straight from Salmi to northeastern cities in China, including Dalian, Qingdao, Shenyang and Harbin. “The new northern route will shorten flight time by 24 minutes, while the new southern route will cut travel time by five minutes,” Lee said.
■ POLITICS
Su Chi to meet Saito
National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) has accepted a request by Japanese Representative Masaki Saito for a meeting, media reported yesterday. Some media interpreted the decision as an “end to a ban” on meetings between senior Taiwanese officials and Saito. The envoy’s comment in May that Taiwan’s status remained unresolved sparked a controversy, with Saito apologizing and retracting his remarks after Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia (夏立言) protested. Media reports claimed that since the incident, senior officials have boycotted Saito, an allegation the Presidential Office has rebutted.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by