SAUDI ARABIA
Taiwanese eligible for e-visa
Taiwan is to be included in Saudi Arabia’s electronic travel authority (e-visa) program, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, touting the measure as facilitating tourism between the two nations. Saudi Arabia had earlier that day announced the e-visa measure, opening its doors to tourists from 49 countries and territories. Under the new program, Republic of China passport holders can apply for a travel permit to the Islamic nation on its e-visa Web site, on which applicants must complete a form and pay a fee with a credit card, the ministry said in a statement. The online system replies via e-mail if the application is approved, the ministry said, adding that Saudi Arabia has not yet announced when the e-visa program would be introduced. The program is only intended for tourists, so those needing a business visa must apply at the Saudi Arabian Trade Office in Taipei, the ministry said.
JAPAN
Taiwanese killed in crash
A Taiwanese tourist died in a head-on crash on Thursday in Okinawa, local news station Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting reported on Friday. The crash happened at about 3pm on Thursday on National Route 58 near Onna Village, a popular tourist resort in Okinawa. A Taiwanese woman was killed and her husband, the driver, was injured, the station said. The deceased woman, Kuo Chuan-hsiu (郭娟秀), was sitting in the back seat of a rented minivan when her husband, surnamed Tang (唐), crossed the centerline when making a right turn and hit another minivan head-on, it said. Kuo, 50, sustained head injuries and was pronounced dead an hour after arriving at a hospital, while Tang incurred a minor chest injury, it said. The couple’s 10-year-old son, also a passenger in the minivan, was uninjured, it added. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had contacted the family and would provide assistance.
IMMIGRATION
Vietnamese group detained
Forty-two illegal migrants from Vietnam on board a tour bus bound for Nantou were arrested in Tainan on Thursday last week, the National Immigration Agency. The arrests were made after a tip-off was received that a group of migrants were returning to the county after touring southern and southeastern Taiwan, the agency’s Tainan branch said. The group, all of whom have allegedly been residing illegally in Taiwan, had apparently booked a tour bus for a three-day, two-night trip to Taitung County and Kenting, the agency said. With the assistance of the freeway patrol, authorities identified and pulled over the tour bus at the Guanmiao Service Area on the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3), and arrested the Vietnamese, it said.
SOCIETY
Filipina wins second award
Filipina Melinda Babaran is to collect her second Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants today, after also winning last year. Babaran is to be presented with the Choice Award for a poem titled Kapirasong Papel, which she wrote in the voice of a man whose wife has been having an affair while working abroad. The inspiration came to her when she overheard a woman in her dormitory screaming on the telephone at her husband because he was having an affair while the woman was working in Taiwan, she said. Babaran works in a semiconductor factory in Taoyuan and has been in Taiwan for 12 years. This year, the judges received 680 submissions and prizes were awarded to eight winners in nine categories.
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
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
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
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
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