DISASTER RELIEF
Philippines get more aid
Taiwan sent another two cargo planes filled with relief supplies to the storm-ravaged Philippines on Tuesday, bringing the number of shipments on military C-130 planes to 14 since Nov. 12. Tuesday’s flights carried 16 tonnes of supplies, the Ministry of National Defense said, bringing the total to nearly 100 tonnes of relief supplies for survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. The two aircraft arrived in Cebu at 3pm on Tuesday. The airlifts are part of Taiwan’s aid to the Philippines following the devastation brought by Haiyan, one of the strongest storms on record, which tore through the central Philippines on Nov. 8. The Cabinet has announced plans to set up a donation center and encouraged the public to deliver water, food, sleeping bags and medicine to Tsoying Naval Base in Greater Kaohsiung by Sunday. The collected supplies will be transported to storm-devastated areas of the Philippines once the defense ministry collects 10 tonnes.
CROSS-STRAIT TIES
ARATS chairman to visit
China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) is scheduled to arrive in Taipei on Tuesday next week for an eight-day visit, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) announced yesterday. It will be Chen’s first trip to Taiwan since he took over as ARATS chairman. Chen will be heading a delegation of ARATS officials on the visit, which is aimed at promoting cross-strait trade and economic cooperation, the SEF statement said, adding that Chen will visit the nation’s free economic pilot zones, major Taiwanese conglomerates and China-funded companies. Chen is also to meet with former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmen Lien Chan (連戰) and Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), as well as some local government heads.
ASTRONOMY
Sunspots can be seen
A large group of sunspots will be visible with specialized equipment over the weekend as solar activity reaches its peak, according to the Taipei Astronomical Museum. The sunspots will be one of the most noticeable solar events since the sun entered a period of increasing magnetic field turbulence last year, museum official Chang Kuei-lan (張桂蘭) said. Chang added that the museum would provide professional equipment and assist astronomy buffs in catching the spectacle. The combined group, known as AR1897, stretches for more than 350,000km — about 27 times the diameter of Earth. The best times to see the spots are in the early morning and late evening when there is not much sunlight, the museum said.
FISHERIES
Tilapia’s image restored
Taiwanese tilapia farmers and vendors promoted their fish at an event in Seoul yesterday, seeking to undo the damage caused by a report aired on South Korea’s Channel A TV station. Taiwan Tilapia Alliance chairman Tsai Chun-hsiung (蔡俊雄) said Taiwan-bred tilapia is of high quality, inexpensive, nutritious and, most importantly, safe. The conference at a Seoul hotel was organized in response to Channel A’s program Food X-File, which in an Oct. 25 broadcast showed images of ponds covered in algae that it said were tilapia farms in Taiwan. A correction was later posted on the program’s Web site explaining that the images were of abandoned facilities. Correcting the image of Taiwan’s industry is important to tilapia producers because South Korea is the nation’s biggest market for the fish, according to the alliance’s statistics.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
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