■ Society
Men urged to doff suits
A group of women's rights and environmental activists called yesterday for men to discard business suits in the summer in favor of casual shirts to reduce reliance on air conditioning. The activists, led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Shu-ying (黃淑英) urged the men to get stop wearing suits during summer to help save energy. Noting that air conditioning is the prime reason for surging power consumption in summer, Huang said that one degree higher on air conditioner thermostats nationwide in summer means the country could save 300 million kwhs -- the amount that Penghu residents use in an entire year. Wearing suits requires a temperature of between 22?C to 23?C to make an office or room comfortable in summer, Huang said, claiming that room temperatures could be raised if men wore less clothing.
SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
■ Cross-Strait Ties
20 feared dead in storm
At least 20 Chinese were feared dead after the Taiwanese boat they were being smuggled in went missing during foul weather, officials said yesterday. The missing boat -- the Hsin Lien Fa 23 -- was last seen Sunday drifting off Fukuichiao (富貴角) at Taiwan's northernmost tip, a coastguard official said. "Our information showed that more than 20 Chinese people were on the fishing boat which lost power at sea in bad weather," she said. According to the coast guard, the Chinese boarded the ship in Fujian Province earlier this week in an attempt to sneak to Taiwan. "The boat has been missing for several days and we fear it might have sunk. The chances for survival of those onboard are slim," the official added. However, Coast Guard Administration officials said yesterday that the boat's captain and a crewman were rescued by Chinese fishermen at sea and were being detained in Xiamen for questioning, the officials said.
■ Defense
MND denies drug allegations
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday denied a media report about widespread drug abuse in the military, claiming that the report is a far cry from the truth. In a press release, the ministry protested against the report and said that new conscripts that test positive for substance abuse are immediately subject to prosecution as a way to wipe out drugs in the military. Only seven out of the more than 5,100 new conscripts summoned to the Cheng Kung (成功) military base in Taichung County in the first six months of this year tested positive, the ministry said, noting that all of them were sent to law-enforcement authorities. The ministry claimed that the report has hurt the military's image.
■ Society
Hello Kitty talk starts brawl
A scuffle broke out late Thursday night between a group of Japanese tourists and locals at a restaurant in Wanhua (萬華), Taipei as result of language barriers and miscommunication. The group of seven Japanese were giggling and talking about the "Hello Kitty" magnets which have recently a stirred frenzy among fans and collectors in Taiwan. Thinking that the Japanese were laughing at them, a table of Taiwanese patrons next to them -- about 10 in all -- approached the group and somehow a fight started.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to