To ensure the safety of the nation’s cleaners — an estimated 150,000 of them — and to make sure that the cleaning occupation has a firm set of standard operating procedures (SOP), a chapter for “cleaning service certification standards” will be included in the draft of the environmental cleanliness and beautification promotion act, the Environmental [...]

Are these motionless human statues real or fake? That’s the question that often crosses the minds of pedestrians passing by Vieshow Cinema Square in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義). Their doubts are quickly answered if they toss a coin or bank note in the direction of these statuesque figures, who suddenly spring to life and do [...]

Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Su Jun-pin announced yesterday that his agency will launch an online newspaper titled Taiwan Today tomorrow to replace the 45-year-old Taiwan Journal and enhance the timeliness of the government’s information service. “In light of the fact that the Taiwan Journal was mostly in print copies, which limited its circulation and [...]

Taipei, May 31 (CNA) The bird strike incident involving a China Airlines flight at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport April 16 was caused by a crested serpent eagle, according to a report released last week by the Flight Safety Foundation-Taiwan. The report said that an examination of a small amount of flesh and feathers from what [...]

Taipei, May 31 (CNA) More than 1,000 students from Taiwan’s major medical schools took it to the streets Sunday to protest a policy they claim favors Taiwanese doctors who have received medical education abroad. The policy against which they were protesting allows foreign-trained Taiwanese doctors to practice in Taiwan once they pass a two-stage national [...]

Guatemala City, May 30 (CNA) Republic of China President Ma Ying-jeou told his host, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom Caballeros, Saturday that Taiwan would like to help Guatemala conserve its historic relics. “Conserving historic relics or sites is a mammoth engineering task that takes a long time to complete, ” Ma said during a dinner party [...]

The Taiwan Personal Watercraft Association yesterday failed again in a bid to cross the Taiwan Strait on jet skis because one of its members was knocked into the sea by a wave after his vehicle broke down and drifted. Association chief secretary Tony Li (黎俊廷) said the group was attempting to complete the 180km voyage [...]

A Chinese local authority has signed contracts with Taiwan companies worth NT$182.8 billion (US$5.6 billion), media reported Friday, as ties between the two rivals continue to thaw. The southwest Chinese municipality of Chongqing signed the agreements Thursday at the start of the Chongqing-Taiwan Week, the China News Service reported on its website. The deals covered [...]

Guatemala City, May 29 (CNA) Republic of China President Ma Ying-jeou and President Alvaro Colom Caballeros of Guatemala — one of Taiwan’s 23 diplomatic allies — released a joint statement Friday reiterating that they will continue efforts to promote bilateral ties and cooperation in a wide range of different fields. The statement was signed after [...]

Guatemala City, May 30 (CNA) Taiwan will step up its cooperation with Belize in the fields of agriculture and fishing, Republic of China Foreign Minister Francisco Ou said in Guatemala City Saturday. Details of the cooperation will be worked out by both sides after a team of Taiwan experts visit the Central American country, Ou [...]