■ SOCIET
Official still in hospital
Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Chung-yi (林崇一), who suffered a stroke on Monday, will have to stay in the hospital for a week, city government spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung (羊曉東) said yesterday. Yang said Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) visited Lin at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on Monday night and was told that Lin’s vital signs were stable, but that he would need to stay for observation. Yang cited Hau as saying that Lin was conscious, but might not be able to shoulder heavy responsibilities in the next month. Lin was rushed to a nearby hospital on Monday after a staff meeting and was initially diagnosed as having had a mild stroke. Lin, who has a history of high blood pressure, was later transferred to Veterans General Hospital because his medical records are there.
■WEATHER
Tropical storm nearing
A tropical low pressure system located off the southeast coast was upgraded to a tropical storm yesterday afternoon, forecasters at the Central Weather Bureau said. The bureau said it may issue a sea alert for Tropical Storm Kalmaegi early this morning to advise all ships operating in waters near the northern Philippines and the Bashih Channel to exercise caution. Kalmaegi means “seagull” in Korean. The bureau said the storm could hit Taiwan and was likely to start affecting the weather today. As of press time, the center of the storm was located 540km southeast of Ouluanbi (鵝鑾鼻), Pingtung County. It was moving in a northwest direction at a speed of 10kph.
■RECREATION
Lienchiang offers canoeing
The Lienchiang County Government was set to launch its “summer fun in Matsu” canoeing event tomorrow, with free canoe rides at Mabi Bay (馬鼻灣) on Beigan (北竿) every Thursday and Saturday. The activity is being held for the second consecutive year as part of county government efforts to boost tourism. The free canoe rides will be offered from 2pm to 6pm at Tanghe Beach (塘后沙灘) on Thursdays and Saturdays, the county government’s Tourism Bureau said. Details are available online at www.matsu-play.com.tw/travel.html, the bureau said.
■ENVIRONMENT
EPA tackles toilets
The government announced a campaign to clean up the nation’s public toilets yesterday. Public restrooms will be graded according to a four-grade system to encourage operators to keep facilities clean, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said. EPA Minster Steven Shen (沈世宏) told a press conference that stickers bearing the grading “superior,” “good,” “fair” or “needs improvement” would be displayed at the entrances to public bathrooms after inspection. The grade will be based on cleanliness, lighting and ventilation. By next year, all public toilets countrywide will be integrated into the evaluation system, Shen said. Shen said that the administration would ask the operators of public restrooms that are determined to need improvement to bring them up to standard. Asked whether the administration was just trying to please tourists and focusing too much on tourist destinations, Shen said that “everyone is a tourist at some point ... tourist sites are a country’s front door ... renovation [of public bathrooms] will be carried out elsewhere across the country as soon as possible.”
City says no water rate hike
The Taipei City Government assured residents yesterday that water prices would not be raised in the near term. The decision follows an announcement by the central government on Monday that water prices would remain stable throughout the country. City government spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung (羊曉東) said yesterday that the city has its own procedure for deciding water prices, which are not under the control of the central government. Should the city decide to adjust prices, the Taipei Water Department must first submit a proposal to a city government review committee before forwarding the proposal to the Taipei City Council for approval, he said. Yang called on the public to conserve water even though prices would not be increased, adding that the water department would step up inspections of the city’s water delivery system to avoid waste caused by leakage.
■DIPLOMACY
US ‘observing’ China: MOFA
The US is still observing the level of goodwill that Beijing is willing to extend to Taiwan on diplomacy-related issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), head of the Department of North American Affairs, told the Taipei Times that American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young said during a visit to the ministry yesterday that he hoped to gain an understanding of the “diplomatic truce” proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) with a view to improving relations across the Taiwan Strait. Tseng said the US feels that China is not yet ready to make a decision on how to handle Taiwan on the diplomatic front, but that Washington will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
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