DIPLOMACY
New EU envoy takes office
Newly appointed EU Representative Lutz Guellner has taken office, the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) said on social media on Wednesday. Despite being geographically distant, “Taiwan and the EU are like-minded partners,” Guellner was quoted as saying. “We want to further strengthen our friendly relations and close cooperation with Taiwan,” said Guellner, who assumed his role as the head of the EETO on Sunday. Guellner, who previously served in the European External Action Service as the head of the Division for Strategic Communications, Task Forces and Information Analysis, was tapped as the new EU envoy in April. Taiwan is the career diplomat’s first posting outside Brussels, the EETO said. He succeeded Filip Grzegorzewski, who departed from his position in July after a five-year stint.
TRAVEL
AirAsia unveils Sabah flights
AirAsia is to begin offering four weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Kaohsiung to Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) from Nov. 17, the low-cost carrier announced yesterday. Tickets are now available, making it the only direct flight between Kaohsiung and the East Malaysian state of Sabah, AirAsia said in a statement. AirAsia Taiwan marketing manager Wang Mu-fan (王慕凡) said that Sabah is known for its stunning natural beauty and cultural diversity, offering attractions such as Mount Kinabalu, tropical rainforests, world-class diving, and a rich fusion of Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine, promising an unforgettable experience for southern Taiwanese travelers, Wang said. AirAsia is offering promotional one-way fares starting at NT$399 for flights between Nov. 17 and March 28 next year, which can be booked until Sept. 15. The route is AirAsia’s 12th in Taiwan.
SOCIETY
Factory fire extinguished
Forty-five vehicles and 77 firefighters were dispatched to put out a factory fire in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林) yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it dispatched firefighters to subdue the flames at a two-story factory unit on Xizun Street after receiving a report at 12:23pm. Thick, billowing smoke was reportedly seen as far away as New Taipei City Hall in Banciao District (板橋). The blaze was brought under control at 1:25pm and fully extinguished at 1:35pm, a social media post by the department said. No one was killed or injured in the fire, the cause of which had yet to be determined. The department urged residents living near the burning factory to temporarily close the doors and windows of their homes, and wear surgical masks when going outside to reduce the risk of respiratory and eye discomfort.
CULTURE
Choir to hold four concerts
The Vienna Boys’ Choir is to perform in Taiwan next month featuring a repertoire that includes Taiwanese rock band Mayday’s song Contentment (知足), organizer Ars Formosa Co Ltd said on Wednesday. The Vienna Boys’ Choir, which is made up of four separate choirs named after famous Austrian composers, is set to send its Haydn Choir to Taiwan, Ars Formosa head Chou Tun-rern (周敦仁) told a news conference at the National Theater in Taipei. The Haydn Choir would be led by Hong Kong conductor Jimmy Chiang (曾智斌). The choir is to hold four concerts: on Oct. 17 at Tainan Cultural Center, on Oct. 18 at National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) Concert Hall, on Oct. 22 at the National Concert Hall in Taipei and on Oct. 23 at Taipei Zhongshan Hall.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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