The nation’s largest bicycle manufacturer and biggest flight carrier signed a memorandum yesterday in a bid to tap into the recent cycling craze.
Giant chairman King Liu (劉金標) and China Airlines (CAL) chairman Philip Wei (魏幸雄) attended the ceremony yesterday morning to sign the agreement.
Janice Lai (賴瑟珍), Tourism Bureau director-general, attended the ceremony as a special guest and said the government had budgeted about NT$700 million (US$21 million) to expand the nation’s bicycle routes. A majority of the funding will be dedicated to construction along the east coast, where bikers can enjoy spectacular views and quality bike tours.
Giant president John Ho (何守仁) said both companies had exchanged thoughts on the proposal of tracking the kilometers that bikers travel in Taiwan and converting them to flight mileage on CAL’s membership cards. CAL, however, had not yet decided whether to implement the plan, Ho said.
Giant also said it was also in the process of applying with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for an official license to operate a travel agency that offers bike tour services.
In related news, the Taiwan Railway Administration and the Northeast and Ilan Coast National Scenic Area Administration are jointly promoting a cruise train service that allows travelers to tour around the nation’s northeast coast with bicycles.
The train will depart on Saturday from Taipei and go strait to Fulong (福隆), where the train will stay for four hours.
Those participating in the bike tour will receive a small gift, officials said.
After Fulong, the train will bring the tourists to a forestry park in Lotung (羅東), where they can see old locomotives, railways and wooden craftwork.
Reservations for the cruise train can be made online or at train stations.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
RSS