■WEATHER
CWB monitors Sinlaku
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) may issue a sea alert for Typhoon Sinlaku as it could move toward Taiwan, the bureau said yesterday. Sinlaku was upgraded from a tropical storm at 2am yesterday. As of 5:45pm, its center was located 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) in Pingtung County and it was moving north at a speed of 7km. The maximum wind speed near the center reached level 13 on the Beaufort scale. The radius of the storm topped 180km. Sinlaku was moving slowly because it lacked a guiding stream, and its path has been rather unpredictable as it has a tendency to shift from side to side. Because of the typhoon’s circumfluence, chances of showers or heavy rain remain high in the mountainous areas in the north and the northeast, the bureau said.
■SOCIETY
Adoptive parents sought
A charity in Kaohsiung City appealed on Tuesday for adoptive parents to care for six babies who range in age from one month to eight months. Guo Liang-ling (郭亮玲), chairwoman of the Hui Ji Charity of Kaohsiung, said a baby boy and five girls were left with the charity in the last few months by either unwed mothers or financially strapped parents who could not afford to raise their children. She said all six were in good health, although one appears to have a hereditary disease. The charity has limited facilities and a small staff, so it cannot take care of all six infants, Guo said.
■SOCIETY
Animal rights highlighted
Kaohsiung City Government will launch a series of animal rights education programs for elementary, junior high and high school students on Tuesday, the city government said yesterday. Deputy Kaohsiung Mayor Lin Jen-yi (林仁益) told a press conference that lectures will be given at 15 schools. The city government will also hold a painting competition for students to show their concern for animals through their creativity, he said. The city government hopes to help students learn compassion and respect for all living beings, he said.
■SOCIETY
Cross-strait marriages rise
One out of every six couples married in Taipei City in the first seven months of this year were cross-strait or cross-cultural couples, the city government said yesterday. A total of 1,604 Taipei residents married overseas nationals, including those from China, Hong Kong and Macau, between January and July, representing 15.83 percent of all residents who got married during that period, the Department of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said. Most of the foreign spouses came from China — 819 — with 789 men marrying Chinese women, and 30 women marrying Chinese men. Officials attributed the growing number of cross-strait and interracial marriages to increased business and trade between Taiwan and China, as well as Taipei’s increasing globalization.
■SOCIETY
Free bus rides for Taichung
Taichung City will offer free bus rides during peak hour next year to help its residents get used to taking public transport ahead of the construction of its metro system, Deputy Taichung Mayor Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家旗) said yesterday. Although the city’s bus ridership has increased to 1.8 million per month from the previous level of just over 300,000, Hsiao said, bus commuters account for only 10 percent of the city’s total population. The ratio must be raised to a range between 20 percent and 30 percent to reach a balance in the future metro operations, he said.
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
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