DIPLOMACY
Czech center to open in Taipei
The Czech Republic on Monday said it would open a new center this week to boost cultural and diplomatic ties in Taipei, a move likely to anger China. Although the EU and NATO member officially maintains a “one China” policy, its officials have sought to foster close ties with Taiwan. “The Czech Centre in Taiwan will launch its activity on Friday” with an exhibition of Czech photographs, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The Czech news agency CTK quoted Czech Centres Director-General Jitka Panek Jurkova as saying that Czechs “want to be seen and heard in Taipei.” “The Czech Centre in Taipei is designed to deepen the understanding among the Taiwanese public of traditional and especially contemporary Czech culture,” she added. The foreign ministry has 28 Czech Centres promoting the Czech Republic in 25 countries across the world, but not in China.
SOCIETY
Poisoning deaths rise to 6
A woman passed away yesterday, bringing the number of people who have died in an apparent case of food poisoning in Taipei to six, health officials said. The people became ill after in late March eating at a Taipei branch of Polam Kopitiam, a Malaysian restaurant chain where a deadly bongkrek acid poisoning outbreak occurred. The 46-year-old woman had a liver transplant in mid-April and was moved to a regular hospital ward on Wednesday last week, the Taipei Department of Health said. However, she was transferred to an intensive care unit after her condition worsened on Monday evening. She was unable to recover and passed away yesterday afternoon, the department said.
SPORTS
Rakuten player fired over DUI
The Rakuten Monkeys baseball team yesterday terminated the contract of outfielder Chiu Tan (邱丹) after he was caught the previous day after crashing his car while driving under the influence (DUI). The Monkeys, one of six teams in Taiwan’s CPBL, said 23-year-old Chiu had breached the terms of his contract and was fired with immediate effect. According to the National Highway Police Bureau, Chiu was determined to have been drunk driving using a breath alcohol test after he crashed his vehicle into a guardrail early on Monday morning on a northbound section of Freeway No. 1 near Tainan’s Madou District (麻豆). No one was injured in the apparent single-vehicle collision, the bureau said, indicating that the case had been handed over to the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office. Chiu apologized in a statement. “As a professional baseball player, a husband and father, I’m sorry I let everyone down,” he said, adding that he regretted that his actions had harmed the Monkeys’ reputation.
SPORTS
Taiwanese win gold in Hanoi
Taiwan won one gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the ninth Aerobic Gymnastics Asian Championship, which concluded on Monday in Hanoi, Vietnam. The three-day competition featured more than 300 athletes from 14 countries and territories competing in 18 events, including aerobic dance. Taiwanese Wang Fei-chu (王飛掬), 14, won gold in the girls’ singles, while Chueh Tzu-cheng (闕子承), 12, won bronze in boys’ singles. Together, they won silver in mixed doubles on Sunday. The two excelled in a sport that requires balance between difficult movements while achieving aesthetics through rigorous training, coach Chang Chun-chi (張淳智) said. “Dedication and hard work are essential to achieving top results in this competition,” he said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
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