ENTERTAINMENT
AKB48 to set up Taipei band
Japanese talent agency AKS on Saturday said it plans to set up a sister group of Japanese idol girl group AKB48 in Taiwan by the end of the year. The local version of AKB48 is to be named TPE48 and will be one of three similar groups to be established outside Japan this year, along with BNK48 in Bangkok and MNL48 in Manila, the Tokyo-based Japanese entertainment company said. AKS already has two AKB48 sister groups in Asia — JKT48 in Jakarta and SNH48 in Shanghai — and has other sister groups within Japan. Formed in 2005, the group is named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo and has its own theater in the area, where it performs nearly every day. It features about 140 members and is known for its choreographed performances.
Photo courtesy of Warner Music Taiwan
TRAVEL
Visa-free expands to 164
Republic of China (ROC) passport holders can now obtain visa waivers, landing visas or e-visas to 164 countries and territories after three more countries recently granted Taiwan such privileges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Malawi and Cameroon in Africa, as well as Kyrgyzstan in central Asia, are the most recent countries to have granted Taiwan landing visa privileges for stays of up to 30 days, the ministry said. To enjoy the visa privileges, ROC passport holders are required to present documents, such as return tickets, travel itineraries, accommodation bookings and invitation letters, for immigration checks upon arrival, it said. The 164 countries and territories that have given Taiwan visa privileges include the US, Japan and all 28 EU states. These privileges cover most of the areas visited by Taiwanese travelers, the ministry said.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit
HOSPITAL VISITS: Shin Kong Mitsukoshi pledged to give the families of the four people who died NT$11m each and provide support for staff working at the time The central government would assist local governments to enhance public safety, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as he visited people in hospital who were injured in an explosion at a department store in Taichung on Thursday. A suspected gas explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang department store in Taichung at 11:33am on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 36. Of the 40 casualties, 39 were hospitalized, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed. Three died after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the data showed. As of 6am yesterday, 25 of those injured had been discharged from hospital, leaving 11