■ Weather
Longwang leaves two dead
Typhoon Longwang killed two people and injured 53 others after lashing Taiwan over the weekend and caused at least NT$200 million (US$6.5 million) in damage, government officials said yesterday. "The typhoon has so far caused NT$130 million in lost farm products and aquaculture," the Council of Agriculture said in a report on the agricultural damage brought by the powerful storm. Various local governments across the nation also reported about a combined NT$70 million worth of infrastructure damage. Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) was relieved that the damage was not as bad as expected, saying that there "was some good fortune in the midst of this misfortune."
■ Culture
Cloud Gate director a `hero'
Famed writer-turned choreographer Lin Hwai-min (林懷民), who founded the internationally acclaimed Cloud Gate Dance Theater, was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 25 "Asian Heroes" for this year. Lin, who is also the artistic director of Cloud Gate, is the only person from Taiwan that made Time's 2005 Asian Heroes list. The Asian edition of the magazine has selected and published "Asian Heroes" for the past four years, choosing men and women that it considers to be either courageous, extraordinarily distinguished in their performances or good role models to inspire other people. Introducing Lin, the magazine said that Lin's troupe once attracted over 60,000 people to watch an outdoor performance; in Europe, members of the audience cried while watching Cloud Gate performances.
■ Transportation
CAL union to sue over funds
The China Airlines (CAL) Employees Union yesterday vowed to file a suit to stop the use of the airlines' funds to finance the debt-ridden Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC). Jesse Lee (李昭平), president of CAL Employees Union, said that the union is set to file a lawsuit today, asking the court to void the resolution made by the China Aviation Development Foundation's board of directors to inject NT$4.5 billion (US$135 million) into the THSRC project. The airline is controlled by the foundation and Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Lee said the decision made by the board of directors clearly violates the foundation's purpose, deviates from social justice and influences the aviation industry. He also accused the board of directors of channeling interests and neglecting their duties.
■ Transportation
Chair reports to task force
Briefing the Executive Yuan's High-Speed Railway Task Force yesterday about the progress of the nation's first high-speed railway project, THSRC Chairwoman Nita Ing (殷琪) said the construction of the project is 86 percent complete and that the company will soon resume negotiations with the Japanese contractor that is in charge of the project's mechanical and electrical system, as well as the firm supplying train carriages. Premier Frank Hsieh on Saturday ordered the task force to be set up to help tackle a host of problems plaguing the project. Yesterday, the premier also demanded that the THSRC increase the number of board supervisors representing government holdings at its next trustee board meeting to help implement the government's participation and supervision of the project.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we