Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday she would not rule out visiting China as the founder of Formosa Weekly (玉山週報).
While introducing the newspaper’s trial issue yesterday, Lu condemned President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for embracing the concept of “one China” despite the military threat from Beijing.
Lu had planned to print a daily newspaper, the Formosa Post (玉山午報), but changed it to a weekly paper because of funding problems. An online version of the weekly paper and the Formosa Post will be launched in the future, she told a press conference at her office.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
When asked to comment on whether she would visit China in her new role as a newspaper publisher, Lu said she would discuss the matter with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and make sure any such visit would not damage Taiwan’s dignity.
“I am not against [visiting China], but there’s no timetable. I don’t have to go,” she said.
Lu sparked debate within the DPP over her apparent willingness to visit China with some party members strongly opposed to any trip.
Lu said that she and her staff do not hold any positions in the DPP and she had founded the newspaper as an ordinary citizen.
The trial issue, which hit the newsstands yesterday, covered the problems the DPP faces as an opposition party and the Ma administration’s efforts to develop nuclear power plants.
The next trial issue will be available on May 20, and the official launch of the Formosa Post is scheduled for July 1, the former vice president said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is