■POLITICS
DPP to participate in rally
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it would continue with a plan to hold a rally scheduled for Aug. 30 despite a suggestion by some party members that the party should not participate in light of a scandal over alleged money laundering by the former first lady. DPP Department of Culture and Information Director Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) told reporters that the decision was made during the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday. Committee members suggested the party continue with the rally to boost morale, Cheng said. The rally, which aims to protest against President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pro-China policies, is organized by several pro-localization groups. It is scheduled to begin at 3pm on Aug. 30 and end in front of the Presidential Office. The date of the protest was chosen to coincide with the Ma administration’s 100th day in office.
■HEALTH
Enterovirus warning issued
Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) yesterday reminded county residents to be on the alert against a possible enterovirus resurgence following the start of the new school year on Sept. 1. A total of 346 serious enterovirus cases have been documented in Taiwan so far this year, including 39 cases in Kaohsiung County. Yang said that although the outbreak has been brought under control, with no new cases being reported in the county in the last six weeks, history shows that the start of the new school year often leads to a second wave of new enterovirus cases. Yang urged parents to encourage their children to frequently wash their hands to avoid infection, and to maintain a clean environment in and around their homes.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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