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.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its