■ POLITICS
Calendar causes stir
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌) yesterday drew attention to a calendar for next year produced by Taoyuan County Council bearing the signatures of council speaker Tseng Chung-yi (曾忠義) and vice speaker Chou Yi-shen (邱義勝) that had Oct. 1 marked as National Day and July 1 as “Reunification Day.” Both Tseng and Chou are members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Hsueh said Taiwan’s National Day is Oct. 10, and Oct. 1 is China’s. Reunification Day could be referring to the KMT’s timetable for unification with China, he said. The calendar has been produced as a gift for Taoyuan residents, the legislator said.
■CULTURE
Minister showcases expo
Visitors can enjoy traditional theater, gourmet, games and shopping at the Taiwan Hakka Exposition to be officially launched on Saturday, Council for Hakka Affairs Minister Huang Yu-chen (黃玉振) announced yesterday. “We’ve spent more than NT$100 million [US$3 million] in planning for the exposition,” Huang told a news conference at the council yesterday. “The expo ground will be divided into 11 areas, and I assure you that you can always find something delicious, spectacular and fun there.” Visitors can learn about outstanding Taiwanese Hakkas, traditional Hakka holidays and the history of Hakkas in Taiwan. They can also buy traditional Hakka products and enjoy Hakka cuisine. “We’ve invited more than 80 Hakka businesses and more than 100 performing troupes to participate in the exposition,” Huang said. The exposition will be held at the Taipei County Hakka Museum in Sansia Township (三峽), and will last until Feb. 15. Shuttle buses will depart from nearby Yingge Railway Station and Yongning MRT station. For further details, visit:
www.hakkaexpo.com.tw.
■TRANSPORTATION
Angkor flights to resume
TransAsia Airways is scheduled to launch its first direct charter flight on Friday between Taipei and the Cambodian city of Siem Reap, the gateway to the world renowned temple complex of Angkor Wat. Far Eastern Air Transport, which in cooperation with Cambodia-based Angkor Airways used to provide regularly scheduled flights on the route, canceled the service in May because of financial difficulties. TransAsia Airways will fly 15 charter flights a month, serving only tour groups and travelers that join foreign independent travel packages offered by travel agencies. The initial response to the charter scheme, which will continue for at least a year, has been good, with the first two scheduled flights already fully booked, the representative said.
■AGRICULTURE
Jujubes sent to Canada
A 2.5 tonne batch of Chinese dates produced in Pingtung County has been shipped to Canada recently, the first fruit of this kind to be exported abroad this year, the Pingtung Department of Agriculture said yesterday. New orders for the Chinese dates, also known as jujubes, or honey dates, have also been received from China and shipments are expected to be dispatched shortly, department officials said. Meanwhile, Cheng Shuang-chuan (鄭雙銓), chief of Pingtung’s Yenpu Township (鹽埔), is scheduled to lead some 80 jujube farmers to Taipei from Friday to Saturday to boost sales of the fruit. Jujubes are poised to become the second flagship fruit from Pingtung County behind the bell fruit, which has been a good earner for Pingtung’s farmers.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
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