AVIATION
Taipei-Dubai flights planned
Emirates Airlines has announced that it will begin offering direct flights next year between Taipei and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The move will make Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport the carrier’s 16th destination in the Far East, according to a press release from the Commercial Office of the Republic of China to Dubai. From Feb. 10 next year, Emirates will operate six Taipei-Dubai flights per week using 777-300ER passenger aircraft, the press release cited Barry Brown, an Emirates senior manager in charge of commercial operations, as saying. Brown said his company is confident that the new service will contribute to travel business, as well as bilateral economic and trade ties. With the opening of the new air route, Taiwanese travelers will be able to use Dubai as a transit stop on trips to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
IMMIGRATION
Defector arrested again
A man from China’s Sichuan Province making his third attempt to sneak into the country was arrested on Wednesday on Kinmen. The 38-year-old was caught on Kinmen’s Dadan (大膽) islet by soldiers stationed there after he had swum to the islet from the nearby Chinese city of Xiamen. He was sent to the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office after being interrogated by Coast Guard Administration authorities. The man is the sixth Chinese to have been arrested this year for illegally entering Kinmen. He had previously illegally entered Kinmen in 2003 and 2009. He said he was sentenced to five years in prison the first time, before being repatriated to China. He received a seven-month jail term the second time. On Tuesday, he swam from Xiamen to Tuyu, a small islet northeast of Dadan, before swimming the short distance to Dadan the following day.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
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
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
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