SOCIETY
Changes for ARC, APRCs
A plan to change the numbering system for Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) and Alien Permanent Resident Certificates (APRC) so they have the same format as Republic of China national identification cards is to take effect on Jan. 2, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said on Saturday during an event in Keelung ahead of International Migrants Day on Dec. 18. The numbers on ARC and APRC cards, which are now two letters and eight digits, would be changed to one letter and nine digits. The change would make it easier for foreign residents to make online purchases, book tickets and register online, which in most cases is impossible at present due to the numbering differences. The change would affect about 871,006 ARC holders and 20,408 APRC holders, National Immigration Agency statistics showed.
DIPLOMACY
AIT hails David Lee
Presidential Office Secretary-General David Lee (李大維) has been selected by the US Department of State as one of the 80 “Faces of Exchange” to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the department’s flagship professional exchange program — the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) made the announcement on it Facebook page on Saturday as it congratulated Lee on his selection for the program. The IVLP connects current and emerging leaders with their US counterparts through short-term visits to the US, it said. Lee, a career diplomat, took part in the IVLP in 1972, the AIT said.
ENTERTAINMENT
A-mei concert schedule set
A-mei (阿妹), also known as Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹), also known as A-mei (阿妹), is scheduled to take the stage at 9:30pm on New Year’s Eve during her free hometown concert, the Taitung County Cultural Affairs Department said. The show at Taitung’s Seashore Park, was first announced by the singer on Facebook on Sept. 24. The concert is set to begin at 3pm with a one-and-a-half hour show by “DJ Show/Sam,” followed. Aboriginal band Original Brewing (原味醞釀) is the official opening act, and is to be followed by artists such as the band Lanshin (蘭馨) and singer Maleveleve (張仰華), it said. A-mei is to lead the New Year’s Eve countdown, which will be followed by fireworks, it added. Those planning to attend must provide their contact information on the department’s Web site, in line with the county government’s COVID-19 protocols, it said. Registration opens on Thursday.
TOURISM
Starlux, Tainan have offer
Taipei-based StarLux Airlines Co and the Tainan City Government are offering a domestic tour package for Saturday next week that combines sightseeing flights with activities in the city, a Tainan Tourism Bureau official said yesterday. Two StarLux flights — JX8061 and JX8063 — are to depart Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 9:30am and 11:15am, flying to Japan’s Miyakojima and along the east coast of Taiwan before landing at Tainan Airport at 12:30 pm and 2:15pm respectively, the official said. Passengers on flight JX8063 would then be taken to the Tainan locations used in the filming of Little Big Women (孤味) and on a street food tour. Passengers on the second flight can choose to buy only the airline tickets and arrange their own tours and activities, the official said. Two flights from Tainan Airport to Taoyuan airport are scheduled for the same day at 1:45pm and 3:30pm, and would fly along the east coast and over Miyakojima before arriving in Taoyuan, the official said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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