CHARITY
Donations for Syria needed
World Vision Taiwan called on the public yesterday to give to Syrian refugees, saying that its international headquarters is still US$17 million short of its goal for relief funds. World Vision International has so far raised US$43 million for Syrian refugees, but it hopes to raise US$60 million for the mission, the local chapter said. As of Thursday last week, World Vision International had assisted more than 230,000 Syrian refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, and it estimates that the number of displaced people will increase to 500,000 in the coming months. The charity said it allocated US$100,000 in July to help Syrian refugees. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday that more 2 million refugees have fled Syria because of the country’s civil war, while more than 4 million others are displaced within the country.
POLITICS
Summit set for Kaohsiung
The mayors or delegates from 72 cities will attend this year’s Asia-Pacific Cities Summit (APCS) from Monday to Wednesday next week in Greater Kaohsiung, according to the city government. As of Tuesday, 47 mayors had said they would take part in the regional forum for civic and business leaders. They include the mayors of Taiwan’s six municipalities and cities. Administrators or delegates will also be coming from Brisbane, Vienna, Honolulu and Seattle, Kumamoto (Japan), Incheon (South Korea), Tianjin (China) and the Kumgangsan tourism special administration district of North Korea. This year’s APCS will be held under the theme: “Reshaping the Urbanomics of Cities — City Challenges and City Solutions,” and will include forums and discussions.
TOURISM
Tourism to Japan continues
Travel to Japan by Taiwanese has shown no signs of decreasing, despite a significant rise in radiation levels at Japan’s damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan said yesterday. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said that day that recorded radiation levels at the power plant have spiked more than 20 percent to 2,200 millisieverts, up from 1,800 millisieverts recorded on Aug. 31. Roget Hsu (許高慶), secretary-general of the association, said the information has had little effect on Taiwanese tourists because tour groups have avoided visiting areas potentially affected by radiation leaks since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that led to a meltdown of three reactors at the power plant.
WEATHER
Storms damage agriculture
Two tropical storms that hit the nation last month have caused agricultural losses of more than NT$700 million (US$23.51 million), with Chiayi County the worst-affected, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday. As of 11am yesterday, the estimated agricultural losses connected to tropical storms Trami and Kong-Rey since Aug. 20 had reached NT$736.94 million, the council said. Southern Taiwan posted the greatest losses, as the region was battered by torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Kong-Rey, which skirted the country on Aug. 28. Chiayi County reported losses of NT$295.20 million, followed by Yunlin County with NT$248.45 million. Greater Tainan and Kaohsiung and Pingtung County each suffered losses estimated at tens of millions of dollars.
HEALTH
Ferret-badgers test positive
Two ferret-badgers tested positive for rabies on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 112 wild animals since the deadly disease resurfaced in middle of July after a seeming absence of 52 years. The Central Epidemic Command Center for Rabies yesterday announced the two newly confirmed infections, which came from Greater Tainan and Taitung County. Including the latest two, rabies-infected animals have been found across 47 administrative divisions of nine counties and cities in central, southern and eastern areas. As of Tuesday, a total of 490 wild animals had been tested for the disease, according to the command center. Of the 112 confirmed rabies infections, one was an infected Asian house shrew while all of the rest were ferret-badgers.
TRANSPORTATION
Events to mark road opening
Separate running and cycling events will be held tomorrow and on Saturday in Changhua County’s Yuanlin Township (員林) to mark the opening of a new road that is a focal point of a redevelopment project in the town, the county government said. The county government recently completed the preliminary redevelopment of a 184 hectare area in Yuanlin that now includes basic infrastructure, parks, and a revamped road system to help traffic in the area flow more smoothly. The centerpiece of the new network is an 8.84km-long, 30m-wide ring road, and to celebrate its opening, an evening run will be held on it tomorrow and a cycling event will be staged there on Saturday. The evening run has become a popular activity in the central county, with membership of Yuanlin’s jogging club growing to more than 3,800. The cycling event scheduled for Saturday morning will follow the formal opening ceremony for the new roadway, which has a 2m-wide cycling path on either side of it.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
Starting next month, people who signed up for the TPass 2.0 program can receive a 15 percent rebate for trips on mid to long-distance freeway buses or on buses headed to the east coast twice every month, the Highway Bureau said. Bureau Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said the government started TPass 2.0 to offer rebates to frequent riders of public transportation, or people who use city buses, highway buses, trains or MRTs at least 11 times per month. As of Nov. 12, 265,000 people have registered for TPass 2.0, and about 16.56 million trips between February and September qualified for
The year 2027 is regarded as the year China would likely gain the capability to invade Taiwan, not the year it would launch an invasion, Taiwanese defense experts said yesterday. The experts made the remarks after President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference on Wednesday that his administration would introduce a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.8 billion) special defense budget bill to boost Taiwan’s overall defense posture over the next eight years. Lai said that Beijing aims for military unification of Taiwan by 2027. The Presidential Office later clarified that what Lai meant was that China’s goal is to “prepare for military unification
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
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