DIPLOMACY
No Africa trip for Ma soon
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is not scheduled to visit Africa, but he will likely visit the continent at some point during his second term in office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. “There is a need for him to make such a visit,” Department of African Affairs Director-General Hsu Mien-sheng (徐勉生) said. He said that Ma visited the nation’s allies in the South Pacific and in Central and South America after taking office in 2008, but he did not go to Africa. Ma was scheduled to tour four diplomatic allies in Africa — Gambia, Burkina Faso, Swaziland and Sao Tome and Principe — last year, but the visit was postponed due to political turbulence abroad. African leaders were looking forward to a visit by Ma, said Hsu, who accompanied Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang earlier this year to the inauguration ceremony of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. Amid media speculation that Ma is set to make such a trip next month, Hsu said lots of administrative work is required and he hinted that there would not be enough time to prepare. “He’s still got four years in his term, so he should visit at some point,” Hsu said.
SOCIETY
Lottery profits top NT$100bn
The net profit of the Public Welfare Lottery since 2007, when Taiwan Lottery Co took it over, exceeded NT$100 billion (US$3.38 billion) as of the end of December, the company said. Taiwan Lottery said earlier this week that it recorded NT$1.94 billion in net profit in December, which is the amount of sales minus the prize money paid out and administrative fees. This brought the total net profit used to subsidize social welfare programs to NT$100.67 billion, the company said. According to government regulations, 50 percent of the net profit is given to local governments for social welfare programs and charitable purposes, 45 percent is allotted to the national pension fund and 5 percent is used as reserves for the national health insurance program.
WEATHER
Temperature set to rise
Temperatures around the nation were expected to start rising yesterday as a cold front from China moves on, the Central Weather Bureau said. While the mercury dipped to lows of about 10oC in some areas, the bureau said warmer and drier weather is expected. The bureau said highs could reach 19oC in northern and eastern Taiwan, 22oC in central Taiwan and 24oC in the south. However, the bureau cautioned that sporadic rainy periods are likely in the east until the weekend, while cloudy weather is expected in most other areas.
DIPLOMACY
Diplomat calls for truce
Representative to the Philippines Raymond Wang (王樂生) said yesterday that Chinese and Taiwanese representatives and expatriate groups abroad should set aside their differences following warming ties across the Taiwan Strait. Wang, who was sworn in on Jan. 31, said that despite closer exchanges between Taiwan and China, groups representing the two sides in the Philippines remain hostile because of their divergent political stances. The “diplomatic truce” between the two sides should be extended to representative groups in countries outside of Taiwan and China, Wang said while visiting a Chinese-language media organization in Manila. He cited an instance in which Chinese personnel waited outside the Republic of China National Day reception and recorded the names of expatriate leaders who attended the event. Wang said it was
A tropical depression in waters east of the Philippines could develop into a tropical storm as soon as today and bring rainfall as it approaches, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, while issuing heat warnings for 14 cities and counties. Weather model simulations show that there are still considerable differences in the path that the tropical depression is projected to take. It might pass through the Bashi Channel to the South China Sea or turn northeast and move toward the sea south of Japan, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said, adding that the uncertainty of its movement is still high,
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
Discounted 72-hour Taipei Metro passes are to be offered to China Airlines passengers until Feb. 28 next year, the airline announced today. China Airlines passengers may present their boarding pass for a discount of up to 34 percent when buying a Taipei Metro 72-hour unlimited travel pass. The offer is available to international travelers on international flights bound for Taipei. Within seven days of arrival, travelers can present their boarding pass, passport and proof of flight payment at an EZfly counter in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or Taoyuan MRT Taipei Main Station to obtain the discounted passes, the airline said. One 72-hour pass
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