POLITICS
Soong ‘senses’ change
People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday said he was “surprised” about the current status of his presidential election endorsement, but did not elaborate on the exact number of signatures he has obtained from the public. “I am really surprised that those who used to be indifferent to political affairs have also participated in my endorsement to show their support,” said Soong, who registered on Sept. 20 to run for president. He needs to collect more than 250,000 signatures to become eligible to run in the Jan. 14 election. Although Soong refused to comment on the actual number of signatures he has obtained so far, he said he could “sense a voice from society” that expects a new momentum to take Taiwan out of “its current difficult situation.”
EDUCATION
More Mongolians in Taiwan
Mongolians have increasingly shown interest in coming to Taiwan to pursue advanced studies, attracted by the nation’s diverse cultures, high-tech maturity and relatively low costs. Mongolia first sent 24 students to Taiwan in 2000 for higher education and by last year the number had increased to 438, according to Vice Minister of Education Lin Tsong-ming (林聰明). Mongolians make up the 11th-largest group of foreign students seeking higher education in Taiwan, Lin said. He added that from next year Taiwan will increase the number of scholarships granted to Mongolians from 14 to 20. Lin led a delegation to Mongolia last month to take part in a Taiwan Education Fair and to unveil a Taiwan-Mongolia Science Education Center in Ulan Bator. At least 300 visitors to the fair expressed an interest in coming to Taiwan for undergraduate or postgraduate studies, as well as to learn Mandarin, Lin said.
SOCIETY
Deaflympics champ returns
A hearing-impaired gold--medalist runner from Australia returned to Taiwan to pay tribute to the late entrepreneur Wang Yung-ching (王永慶) in a memorial road run yesterday. Melinda Vernon, who won two gold medals at the 2009 Taipei Summer Deaflympics with record-breaking performances, said she came to pay respects to Wang, who had donated hearing aids to people like her prior to his death in 2008. The 26-year-old broke records for the women’s 10,000m and 5,000m at the Taipei Games. More than 7,000 participants ran in the 5km Yung-Ching Wang Run in Taipei yesterday, while a similar number took part in a run in Chiayi County, where Wang began his career.
SPORTS
Chen departs for S Africa
Extreme marathon runner Tommy Chen (陳彥博) left for South Africa yesterday to compete in a seven-day, 250km race. Wearing an outfit bearing a Republic of China flag, Chen told reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport that after he arrives in South Africa, he will take a bus to the Great Kalahari Desert, site of the 12th Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon. The 25-year-old said that at this time of year, temperatures in the Kalahari range from 5°C to 48°C and that he had been training in the mountains of Europe and in Western Australia to get himself accustomed to the huge temperature differences. Chen, widely seen as following in the footsteps of Taiwanese ultra-marathon champion Kevin Lin (林義傑), took part in a North Pole marathon in April last year and won a bronze medal, setting a record as the youngest competitor to finish in the top three. He also won a silver in the 100km ultra-marathon race in Antarctica in December.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
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