TRAVEL
US visa group on its way
A delegation from the US Department of Homeland Security will soon visit Taiwan to evaluate the country’s bid for entry into the US Visa Waiver Program, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The ministry hopes the delegation would come to Taiwan “as soon as possible,” said Remus Chen (陳立國), deputy director-general of the Department of North American Affairs. The sooner the evaluation, the sooner Taiwanese passport holders would be exempt from needing visas for trips to the US, Chen said. He would not confirm speculation that the visit has been set for next month. Taiwanese Representative to the US Jason Yuan (袁健生) said in Washington that he expected the visit to take place as early as next month or in February.
WATER
Feitsui Reservoir 91% full
After steady rainfall in northern Taiwan since November, the Feitsui Reservoir (翡翠水庫) now holds enough water to supply greater Taipei until March next year, the Taipei Feitsui Reservoir Administration said yesterday. The administration said the water level yesterday was 166.9m, filling an effective 30.71 billion cubic meters of water storage capacity, with an effective storage rate of 91.52 percent. The current water level is 4.42m higher than the average of 162.49m, with 38.2 million cubic meters more water in the reservoir than the average for this time of year. The second phase of the water supply improvement project for Banciao (板橋) and Sinjhuang (新莊) districts in New Taipei City (新北市) is scheduled to be finished in 2014, the administration said. It added that the two areas, which now depend on the Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) for their water, will then receive water from the Feitsui Reservoir.
CONSERVATION
Spoonbill numbers drop
The peak number of black-faced spoonbills migrating through southern Taiwan this year dropped by more than 200 from a year earlier, according to a survey conducted by a local conservation group. Taijiang National Park, located in Greater Tainan, said the last count of the year was taken by the group on Saturday and a peak number of 1,399 black-faced spoonbills was recorded. A total of 1,200 were seen in Tainan, 190 in Chiayi and nine in Greater Kaoh-siung. According to park officials, the data showed that spoonbill numbers this year peaked a month later than the peak of 1,671 recorded in November last year.
EDUCATION
Miaoli helps with exchange
The Miaoli County Government will sponsor less privileged students to participate in an exchange program with a sister school in Japan. Five students and two teachers each from Houlong Elementary School in Miaoli County and Nakaminami Elementary School in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture would take part in the annual exchange program, the Ministry of Education said, adding that participants would stay with host families to gain a deeper understanding of the local culture. The two institutions formally forged sister-school ties earlier this month after some students from Houlong Elementary took part in the Asia-Pacific Children’s Convention in Fukuoka in July during a two-week exchange. Chang Kuo-en (張國恩), principal of Houlong Elementary, said the students managed to communicate with their counterparts from other countries in Mandarin, English and Japanese and formed close links with their host families.
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Academics have expressed mixed views on President William Lai’s (賴清德) nomination of High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Tsai Chiu-ming (蔡秋明) as a Constitutional Court justice and the head of the nation’s top judicial body. While prosecutors have served as justices at the Constitutional Court over the years, including Judy Ju (朱富美), an incumbent, the appointment of a prosecutor as president of the Judicial Yuan, which presides over the Constitutional Court, would be unprecedented. Retired law professor Lin Teng-yao (林騰鷂) said that Tsai’s nomination was an “abuse” of power by Lai, and called on the legislature, in which the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
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