TRADE
RCEP group inaugurated
A nonpartisan group of lawmakers yesterday inaugurated a parliamentary amity association for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) to serve as chair. The RCEP is a 15-member free-trade agreement that does not include Taiwan. The group aims to deepen exchanges and help Taiwan participate in regional economic integration, Fu said at the legislature. As Taiwan’s technological strength is globally recognized, it could use that as a starting point to work together with RCEP members, especially in South Asia, Fu said. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Remus Chen (陳立國), Ministry of Economic Affairs Chief Secretary Yang Chih-ching (楊志清) and foreign representatives were also in attendance.
DIPLOMACY
MOFA confident in US ties
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it believes US support would remain unchanged no matter who wins the US presidential election in November, but it would stay on guard for Taiwan-China issues being “manipulated” as the campaign heats up. In a report to lawmakers, the ministry said that even though the US election’s outcome was not certain, there was cross-party support for the nation. Taiwan will continue to have balanced exchanges with the Republican and Democratic parties, but needs to be on guard for how Taiwan-China issues might feature in the election, the ministry added. “As the US election heats up, we should beware of cross-strait issues being manipulated as a political issue of defense and attack,” it said, without elaborating.
CRIME
Five indicted for trafficking
One Taiwanese and four Thai nationals allegedly involved in an international drug cartel were indicted for smuggling heroin into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The four ethnic Mon people from Thailand entered Taiwan in December last year on tourism visas, carrying 36.644kg of heroin valued at more than NT$100 million (US$3.13 million), the bureau said. The group, led by a Mon chief surnamed Sae, encouraged fellow tribe members to participate in the operation, offering each 800,000 baht (US$21,936), it said. All five suspects have been indicted under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), it added.
SPORTS
Centenarian still got it
A 102-year-old Taiwanese man is defending his father-son title at the World Morning Cup Badminton Championships, an amateur event that began in Taipei on Wednesday, for the 40th consecutive year. Lin Yu-mao (林友茂), the Guinness world record holder for oldest male badminton player, on Tuesday said that he would also take part in the grandparent-grandchild category for the sixth consecutive year. Lin said he played badminton every morning without fail before age 100, after which he played every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. He said he was always good at sports, with experience in basketball and tai chi.
Lin said he finally stuck to badminton in his 50s because of the cheers he got when he hit a good smash. He said the Morning Cup “can enhance family relationships while happily exercising,” expressing hopes that it would continue. The championships broke the world record for the largest amateur badminton championships in 2016 with 4,318 people participating. This year, another world-record number of 4,753 people from 22 countries and regions have signed up, organizers said.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
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