POLITICS
Chen Pei-yu enters legislature
Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), a promoter of children’s reading, is to fill a legislative seat vacated by Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), who has been appointed to head the Ocean Affairs Council, the Central Election Commission said. Kuan, who was sworn in as a member of new Premier Chen Chien-jen’s (陳建仁) Cabinet on Tuesday, held an at-large seat representing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Chen is to serve the remainder of the legislative term until Jan. 31, next year, the commission said. Control Yuan member Chang Chu-fang (張菊芳) was next in line on the DPP’s legislator-at-large succession list, but Chang decided to keep her position. Her term ends in 2026.
AVIATION
Matsuyama flights resume
A charter flight carrying 179 Japanese tourists arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) from Matsuyama Airport on Saturday evening, marking the resumption of passenger services between the two airports after nearly three years during the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel industry is seeking to benefit from the resumption of international travel, after Taiwan reopened its borders to foreign tourists. The borders had been closed in March 2020 to prevent a domestic outbreak of COVID-19. An annual report on foreign visitors by the Tourism Bureau in 2019 said that Japanese members of group tours on average spent US$303.12 in Taiwan, leading the rankings of foreign travelers. Charter flights between the two airports were launched in 2013, and the operator promoted them based on Songshan and Matsuyama being written with the same Chinese characters. Until the pandemic hiatus, there were also flights between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Matsuyama.
LOTTERY
Fifteen people win NT$10m
Fifteen receipts issued in November or December last year each won the NT$10 million (US$334,448) special prize in the invoice lottery, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday. Three of the 15 receipts with the winning number 28089459 were issued at 7-Eleven convenience stores, including one issued for a NT$39 drink, and another for a NT$13 bill payment charge. Other NT$10 million winners included a person who spent NT$81 on chocolate and other items at a Hi-Life convenience store in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音), the ministry said. FamilyMart convenient stores issued two NT$10 million winning receipts, both for purchases of less than NT$60, in Taichung’s East District (東區) and Taoyuan’s Luzhu District (路竹). Meanwhile, 7-Eleven stores issued two of the 14 receipts with the NT$2 million grand prize-winning number 30660303, it said.
ENVIRONMENT
Hualien commissions e-bikes
Hualien County’s 177 borough and village wardens have received electric bikes for official use as a part of a local drive to contribute to the national goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2025, the Hualien Environmental Protection Bureau said on Saturday. Replacing the wardens’ combustion engine bikes would save 408 tonnes of carbon emissions through the service life of the vehicles, it said. The project would reduce the county’s emissions of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers by 0.22 tonnes and 3.4 tonnes per year, it added. Hualien also provides residents a subsidy of up to NT$22,800 for every electric bike purchased to replace a motorbike in a bid to encourage electric vehicle ownership, it said.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
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