News of the World

The government will decide on whether to go ahead with a major tax overhaul measure after the Lunar New Year break, which ends on Feb. 11, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung said yesterday.

Taiwan’s dollar rose for a fifth day yesterday on speculation exporters were converting their overseas sales into the local currency before the Chinese New Year holidays, which start tomorrow.

Taiwan’s economics ministry said Monday it expects output from the island’s flat panel display industry will exceed two trillion Taiwan dollars (US$62.11 billion) in 2011.

The Taipei District Court yesterday released on bail 10 senior executives of the collapsed Rebar Group, including four family members of fugitive Rebar founder Wang you-tseng.

More than 50 percent of laborers in Taiwan received job-related training during 2007, according to tallies released yesterday by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA).

Taiwan aims to become the world’s leading machine part service supplier within the next four years, and has launched a project this year to boost the production value of the country’s machine parts by 84 percent by 2011, according to a senior officials at the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Two residents in the central county of Changhua were arrested in the eastern county of Yilan while attempting robbery in Yuanshan Township, Yilan County, according to police.

Education Minister Tu Cheng-sheng has decided to cancel a planned trip to Paraguay due to the andquot;disclosureandquot; of his itinerary by the media, a Ministry of Education (MOE) official said yesterday.

A man was found hung dead on the top of an electric pole in Omei Township of the northern county of Hsinchu early yesterday morning, and officials with Taiwan Power Company judged that the man might have been killed by high-voltage power when trying to steal electric wire cables.

Although both the Taiwan Macau and Taiwan-Hong Kong air pacts are set to expire this summer, the Civil Aviation Association (CAA) is not sure whether the agreements will be extended or new agreements will be signed.

A young girl, who was originally allowed to enjoy a free flight on Jan. 27 due to being aged under 2, had to andquot;buyandquot; a plane ticket just several days later, because she has turned two years old on Feb. 1.

Super Bowl frenzy hit the sports pubs of Taipei yesterday morning with hordes of domestic and foreign fans thronging to watch live the match-up between the New England Patriots and New York Giants.

With persisting low temperatures islandwide, few activities beat a dip in a hot spring bath, but until all hot-spring resorts fully abide by existing regulations, the public should be careful while visiting resorts that do not carry the tourism bureau’s official logo, the Cabinet-level Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) warned yesterday.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) declined to comment yesterday on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh’s recent accusations that his opposition Kuomintang (KMT) opponent Ma Ying-jeou has obtained financial support from China during his campaign.

The upcoming Chinese New Year has prompted a rushed on freshly minted banknotes islandwide, Chinese-language media reported yesterday, amid concerns that some banks and ATMs had already been out of new bills earlier that afternoon.

A total of 46 Taiwan companies applied to have their stocks traded on the over-the-counter (OTC) market in 2007, according to tallies released yesterday by the GreTai Securities Market (GTSM).

The government will ease the requirements for Chinese spouses who apply for Taiwan citizenship, an official from the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.

China has freed a Taiwanese professor who was imprisoned for 11 years on charges of spying for Taiwan, news reports said Monday.

The successive cold masses from northern China will maintain temperatures at low levels during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays formally starting from tomorrow.

Starting 12:00 a.m. today through 12:00 a.m. Feb. 11, taxi passengers will be subject to a markup of NT$20 per daytime trip (6:00 to 23:00) and NT$40 per nighttime trip (23:00 to 6:00) in Taipei, according to transportation officials.

The persisting low temperatures islandwide have prompted a rush on andquot;hot potandquot; ingredients — a traditional dish from mainland China — as well as other Lunar New Year items on the final weekend before the holiday break begins on Feb. 6.

Opposition presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou yesterday lauded his father-in-law Chou Chao-kui as an exemplary husband and father when bidding farewell at a funeral service for Chou who died recently.

The Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC) is slated to sponsor a seminar Feb. 27 on how to explore business opportunities in the Middle East, CNAIC officials said yesterday.

Temperature is expected to drop to around 10 degrees Celsius in northern and eastern Taiwan on Chinese New Year’s Eve with the approaching of a new cold snap caused by a continental arctic air mass, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) reported yesterday.

Transportation officials expect a surge in highway traffic volume starting tomorrow evening after most people wrap up work to embark on journeys home for the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

Presidential candidate Frank Hsieh of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday that he would withdraw from the presidential race if he is found to have received NT$500,000 (US$15,528) from a biopharmacists association allegedly in the form of a political donation.

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Chen Ming-tong urged Beijing yesterday not to andquot;twistandquot; Taiwan’s referendum on the country’s U.N. membership bid to be held along with the March 22 presidential election.

Taiwan’s first andquot;English villageandquot; for children featuring a total language immersion environment opened Saturday at Taichung English and Art Museum in Dali City in Taichung County.

A delegation from Germany’s top notch auto parts manufacturer Kirchhoff Automotive is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan later this month to seek suppliers, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) reported yesterday.

Thanks to the persistent efforts of local animal rescuers, yet another Taiwan stray dog has found a new home across the Pacific.