FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MOFA decries name change
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it has lodged a protest with the Swedish Tax Agency over its changing of the nation’s name to “province of China” from “Taiwan” on its Web site, calling for the original designation to be maintained. The protest was lodged in response to a statement by the Swedish Tax Agency on Feb. 28, which said that Taiwan would now be listed on its Web site as a province of China, based on the International Organization for Standardization’s code. The ministry has directed its representative office in Sweden to tell the Swedish government that such a change is unacceptable to the government and people of Taiwan, MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said. The designation “Taiwan” must be reinstated to ensure the nation’s dignity and the rights of Taiwanese, he said, adding that Sweden’s representative office in Taipei has also been informed of Taiwan’s position on the matter.
INVESTMENTS
CIB warns against Ethvinex
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Saturday issued a statement warning the public against using the trading site Ethvinex, which it said has come under the spotlight amid complaints related to fraud. Since last month, Taiwanese authorities have been receiving at least 50 complaints per day about fraudulent activities on the site, the CIB said. The people who filed the complaints all said that they had not received any response after carrying out transactions on the trading platform, the bureau said. Citing the complainants, the CIB said Ethvinex claims to guarantee a 20 percent safe return on capital investments and a drawdown of profits after a week of placement. The placement of funds can range from NT$2,000 to NT$930,000, the bureau said. The CIB said an investigation is being carried out into the operations of Ethvinex and its host location. Meanwhile, the public is warned to be aware of the growing threat of online investment fraud, particularly offers of high and easy returns, the CIB said. People can report suspicious activities via the government’s 165 Fraud Prevention Hotline or its online reporting service at https://www.165.gov.tw/case_tell.aspx, it added.
AIR QUALITY
Firecrackers prove ‘unhealthy’
The air quality in the central and northern parts of western Taiwan was generally rated “unhealthy” yesterday, because of a lack of wind to disperse atmospheric pollutants, much of which resulted from the lighting of firecrackers during the previous two days of Lantern Festival celebrations, the Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring Network said. As of noon, the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI) showed a “red” warning, indicating unhealthy air for the general public, in Changhua County’s Siansi (線西) and Erlin (二林) townships, and Yunlin’s Lunbei Township (崙背). Meanwhile, 28 monitoring stations in northern and central Taiwan, as well as Yunlin and Chiayi counties, including 13 stations in the greater Taipei area, showed an “orange” warning, signaling unhealthy air for sensitive groups. In the rest of western Taiwan and all of eastern Taiwan, the air quality was rated as either good or fair, the monitoring data showed. The poor air quality is likely to improve today, when a weather front is to arrive, the EPA said, adding that the situation in southern and eastern Taiwan was slightly better yesterday due to southerly and easterly winds.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
NEW DESTINATIONS: Marketing campaigns to attract foreign travelers have to change from the usual promotions about Alishan and Taroko Gorge, the transport minister said The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year. Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals. Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include