MILITARY
Liu Ho-chien dies at 97
Liu Ho-chien (劉和謙), a former chief of the general staff, died early yesterday at the age of 97, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press release. The ministry said it would help Liu’s family with the funeral arrangements, but did not give any other details of his death. Liu, a four-star admiral, served as commander of the navy from 1983 to 1988 and as chief of the general staff from 1991 to 1995. He was appointed as military strategy adviser to the president by Taiwan’s four elected presidents to date, including President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). He played a crucial role in the development of Taiwan’s navy and helped Taiwan purchase submarines in the 1980s despite various difficulties.
TRANSPORTATION
THSRC announces tickets
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) yesterday said that sales of reserved seat tickets for eight additional services running from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2 are to start at Saturday midnight. The THSRC said it is to run eight additional services amid high demand for the105 specially scheduled trains, bookings for which opened on Dec. 1. A total of 740 regular trains, and 53 southbound and 60 northbound extra services are to run from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2 to meet the demand, it said. Meanwhile, reserved seat tickets for 12 extra services from Jan. 5 to 7 are also go on sale at midnight on Saturday, it said. THSRC added that travel advice for nonreserved tickets, which can only be purchased on the day of travel, would be provided on the homepage of its Web site during the holiday period. Under its color-coded system, green indicates wait times of less than 30 minutes, while yellow indicates longer than 30 minutes and red more than 60 minutes, it said.
SOCIETY
Citizenship granted to 28
Twenty-eight foreign professionals were granted citizenship this year, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The ministry on Monday convened its final meeting of the year to review naturalization applications for high-level foreign professionals, who under a 2016 amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) no longer need to forfeit their original nationality to become citizens. “High-level professionals” are defined in the act as working in technology, economics, education, culture, art, sports or other fields and have been recommended by a central authority. In the six years since the change, 281 people have become naturalized citizens, the ministry said. The seven applications approved on Monday brought the total for this year to 28, it said. Education was the best-represented field with nine approved applicants, followed by technology with seven and economics with six, it said. Twelve of the people hold dual citizenship with the US, it said.
BUSINESS
EVA Air awarded in Dubai
Taiwan-based EVA Air has been named as offering the best premium economy service in Asia at this year’s World Travel Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a statement released yesterday by the airline said. The airline, which launched its premium economy service in 1992, said it has “adopted business class seats” to make travelers feel comfortable and offers amenities such as inflight entertainment systems featuring an 11-inch LCD touch screen and noise-canceling headphones to enhance the flying experience. A pillow and blanket set, travel-sized toiletries, USB plugs and 110v sockets for laptops are also offered, it added. In addition to seats and amenities, special meals for are also provided, it added.
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