TRAVEL
Taiwan 3rd in Boracay visits
Taiwan was the third-largest contributor to tourism on the Philippine island of Boracay last year, according to data from Philippine tourism authorities. The number of Taiwanese visitors to the island was 39,706, the third-highest among all countries. South Korea was the No. 1 source of tourists to Boracay, with 208,665 visitors, followed by China with 200,794. A Taiwanese fisherman was shot dead by Philippine Coast Guard personnel on May 9 last year in an overlapping exclusive economic zone of the two countries. Taiwan imposed a red alert travel advisory to the Philippines and there was a 33 percent drop in Taiwanese visitors in the months after the incident. Boracay recorded more than 1.36 million visitor arrivals last year, up nearly 12 percent from the previous year, according to the Philippine Department of Tourism.
WEATHER
Pollution warning issued
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) warned yesterday that residents of western and southern Taiwan who have respiratory problems or allergies should avoid outdoor activities, as the level of air pollution in those areas is quite high. The concentration of air particles over western Taiwan was between 95 and 115 on the EPA’s Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), and between 100 and 120 over Greater Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, EPA data showed. Both levels fall within a PSI range that is defined as unhealthy for sensitive groups, the agency said, adding the particles were carried by winds coming into the country from offshore. Dusty atmospheric conditions were likely in some areas of central Taiwan, including Greater Tainan and Yunlin, Chiayi and Taitung counties, as a result of windy conditions, the agency said.
SOCIETY
Iruan leaves for home
Iruan Ergui Wu (吳憶樺), a Taiwanese-Brazilian teenager who returned to Taiwan earlier this month for the first time since a bitter custody battle more than a decade ago, left for home yesterday with his adopted mother, Etna Borkert and brother. The three arrived in Taiwan on Jan. 3. The most important event of this trip was the reunion with his Taiwanese relatives and elementary-school classmates in Greater Kaohsiung, Wu said at a farewell party hosted by the Rotary Club of Taipei Nanmen. Wu’s parents never married and his Brazilian grandmother, Rosa Leocadia DaSilva Ergui, had looked after him following the death of his mother from cancer. His father, a Taiwanese fishing boat skipper, brought Wu to Taiwan to visit his family in March 2001, but died just weeks later. The death of Wu’s father triggered a custody battle between Ergui and Wu’s Taiwanese relatives. He was finally returned to Ergui’s custody in February 2004.
DIPOLOMACY
Canadian group visiting
A group of Canadian lawmakers is visiting the nation to learn more about its political and economic development and cross-strait ties, as well as to promote bilateral ties, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The delegation, Senator James Cowan, is on a six-day visit that will wrap up on Thursday, the ministry said in a statement. Several of the lawmakers are making their first visit to Taiwan, including Dominic LeBlanc, Mark Eyking and Sean Casey. The delegation is scheduled to meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Cabinet officials and lawmakers. The group’s itinerary also includes visits to the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Hsinchu Science Park, the ministry said.
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
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)
Traffic controls are to be in place in Taipei starting tonight, police said, as rallies supporting recall efforts targeting the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as well as a rally organized by the KMT opposing the recall campaigns are to take place tomorrow. Traffic controls are to be in place on City Hall Road starting from 10pm tonight and on Jinan Road Section 1 starting from 8am tomorrow, police said. Recall campaign groups in Taipei and New Taipei advocating for the recall of KMT legislators, along with the Safeguard Taiwan, Anti-Communist Alliance (反共護台聯盟), have previously announced plans for motorcycle parades and public
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