■TOURISM
Ireland targets Taiwanese
Tourism Ireland, the Irish government’s main tourism promoter, has opened a page on its Web site catering to Taiwanese tourists and offering them information on traveling and studying in Ireland. The new page offers personalized itinerary planning and a rundown of the country’s main travel destinations and study programs. The page is in Chinese, written in traditional characters, and reflects the importance that Tourism Ireland attaches to the Taiwanese market, Representative to Ireland Lee Nan-yang (李南陽) said. Ireland’s push to attract Taiwanese tourists follows its decision earlier this year to grant Republic of China passport holders visa-free entry for visits related to tourism, business and studying. The policy took effect July 1 and allows Taiwanese to stay in Ireland for up to 90 days without a visa.
■FISHERIES
France enters fishing deal
France has notified the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission of a fishing vessel inspection deal with Taiwan, the Fisheries Administration said yesterday. From Feb. 2, France and Taiwan will start mutual onboard inspections on the open sea under the international organization set up to conserve and manage stocks of migratory fish in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. France joins New Zealand, the Cook Islands, the US and Japan in agreeing to mutual onboard inspections with Taiwan, the officials said. They said that Taiwan’s tuna boats, whether purse seiners, longliners of more than 100 tonnes or smaller longliners, will have to follow the commission’s inspection regulations. Taiwanese skippers will have to keep their licenses, fishing haul reports and operation logs at hand in case of inspection and report all inspections to the Coast Guard Administration and fishery radio.
■CULTURE
Hakka exposition opens
The first International Exposition of Hakka Merchandise, organized by the Council for Hakka Affairs, opens today at the World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall and will last until Jan. 3. Thousands of Hakka products will be on show, ranging from clothes, produce and handicrafts, to Hakka-themed tours. Featured items include fruit and tea, wooden sculpture, paper umbrellas, pottery, and clothing with traditional blue dyes. There will also be Hakka performances, do-it-yourself handicraft lessons, appearances by Hakka celebrities and free gifts. Six hundred gifts will be handed out to visitors beginning at 10am today.
■RAILWAYS
Station to exploit sun
A new railway station near completion at the Southern Taiwan Science Park is the first designed to exploit solar energy and will produce enough solar power to offset the electricity used for lighting, the Tainan County government said yesterday. When the railway station becomes operational in April, it will be able to generate up to 16.1 kilowatts of electricity each day, saving 84 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) said. The station will generate power through solar panels and thin-film solar cells installed on the station’s roof and on top of the covered train platform. The electricity generated will be sent to Taiwan Power Co’s grid rather than being used directly at the station.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
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