TOURISM
Travel fair targets the public
A travel fair targeting Taiwanese who plan to travel during the Lunar New Year holiday opened yesterday with the participation of some 200 exhibitors. Travel agencies, hotel operators and restaurants are at the show pitching deals for travel during the Feb. 18 to Feb. 23 Lunar New Year period, according to the organizers. Now in its fifth year, the International Winter Travel Fair is set to run through Monday and is expected to draw over 170,000 visitors organizer Chou Tsen said. He estimated that it would create NT$410 million (US$12.8 million) worth of business.
HEALTH
Flu season starts
The confirmed infection rate of influenza surged over the past week to 12.1 percent from 3.7 percent the week before, indicating flu season is approaching its peak, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Taiwan has officially entered flu season since the rate has surpassed the 10 percent threshold, meaning 10 out of every 100 patients with flu-like symptoms are confirmed to be infected, explained CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥). When the rate hits 20 percent, it means that the flu season has reached a peak, he added. According to Chuang, the dominant virus strain is Influenza A virus subtype H3N2, which is similar to the recent outbreak in the US. The CDC urged the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible because it takes about two weeks for the antibodies to develop in the body after vaccination. Senior citizens, young children and anyone with chronic medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, chronic renal disease or diabetes are at a higher risk of flu complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis and even death. CDC data showed 55 cases of severe flu-related complications since August last year, including 14 deaths among people with chronic conditions.
TOURISM
Holiday packages touted
Officials from Taichung and neighboring county governments yesterday promoted various package tours to central Taiwan coinciding with the upcoming Taiwan Lantern Festival, hoping to attract more visitors to the region. Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Changhua County Deputy Magistrate Chen Shan-pao (陳善報) introduced the tours at a news conference in Taichung yesterday. Bus tours and other package tours, both with and without accommodation, are available for domestic and international tourists, to making visiting Taichung, Changhua and Nantou easier, they said. This year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival is scheduled to be held in three areas in the Taichung metropolitan area — Fengyuan District (豐原), Taichung Park and Wuri District (烏日) — from Feb. 27 to March 15. The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese Lunar New Year, or March 5 this year.
ENTERTAINMENT
France holds workshop
Ten Taiwanese film directors, producers and screenwriters have been invited to participate in a two-day workshop in Paris next week, to seek co-production opportunities with their counterparts in France. The workshop is a collaboration among Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, Golden Horse Film Project Promotion and France’s National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image. Fve Taiwanese film projects have been selected to join the workshop, which will take place at the center on Thursday and Friday next week.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
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