Military: Singapore denies transfer
Singapore's Defense Ministry has denied a foreign wire service report that the ministry will move its "starlight" project from Taiwan to China's Hainan island. In response to an inquiry Wednesday from the Singaporean daily Lianhe Zaobao, a ministry spokesman said the report was completely unfounded. AFP quoted unnamed Taiwan military sources as saying last Sunday that Singapore has decided to move at least part of training facilities and some of its troops in Taiwan to Hainan. The Ministry of National Defense has denied the report. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said Tuesday that it has not heard about the reported development. Under its "starlight" project, Singapore has since 1975 sent troops to Taiwan to receive combat training.
Foreign affairs: US declares its support
In a section of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act passed Wednesday, the US House of Representatives declared its support for Taiwan as "a mature democracy that fully respects human rights," and reiterated that "it is the policy of the United States that any resolution of the Taiwan Straits issue must be peaceful and include the assent of the people of Taiwan." The act, House Resolution 1646, now goes to the Senate where final approval is expected soon. Representative David Wu, the first Taiwan-born US congressman, said that "Through this bill, Congress has expressed America's strong support for the people of Taiwan and their right to freely determine their own future." The bill also recognizes Taiwan as a non-NATO ally for the purpose of transferring defensive articles and services.
Crime: Bomb hoax suspect arrested
Taipei aviation police announced yesterday that they arrested a man involved in a bomb hoax on the EVA Airways flight taken by first lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) to the US. EVA Airways received a phone call from an anonymous man Sept. 19 claiming that explosives had been planted on the plane. However, the plane was allowed to take off after a thorough search was carried out and no explosives were found. The suspect, surnamed Tsen, 33, called EVA Airways from a public phone booth in Taichung County, a police spokesman said. Having checked thousands of phone calls and conducted follow-up investigations, police found that Tsen's voice was similar to that of the suspect phone call, he said. The suspect, accused of committing intimidation and an offense against aviation security, was turned over to the Taoyuan District Court for further interrogation.
Air safety: Conference comes to Taipei
The 33rd International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) meeting will be held in Taipei from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3, the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) said yesterday. This will mark the first time that the US-based international flight safety promotion organization has held its annual conference in Taiwan since its inception in 1964. The ASC, an ISASI member, obtained the right to host the 2002 ISASI congress in 1999. ASC officials said the conference will focus on accident investigation results and technologies, initiatives for the betterment of flight safety, new threats to aviation safety and future challenges. Billy Chang (張國政), director-general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration and ASC Managing Director Kay Yong (戎凱) will attend the three-day meeting.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
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