■ DIPLOMACY
Philippines’ move rebuffed
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reiterated Taiwan’s historical claim to islands and reefs in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands. The ministry’s statement on Wednesday night came after both houses of the Philippine legislature passed bills to annex some isles and reefs of the Spratlys and Macclesfield Bank Islands as part of the Philippines’ territory. The ministry said Taiwan’s sovereignty claim was beyond doubt and challenge, stressing that all four groups of islands in the South China Sea — the Nansha, Jhongsha, Dongsha (Pratas) and Sisha (Paracel) — and their surrounding waters were Taiwan’s territories from a historical, geographical, factual and international law perspective. The ministry said the government would not recognize any move by another country that occupies or claims sovereignty over any of the four island groups. It called on the Philippines to negotiate with Taiwan on the sovereignty dispute to peacefully resolve the conflicting claims.
■ AGRICULTURE
Cold snap costs NT$67m
The cold weather before and during the Lunar New Year holiday caused more than NT$67.83 million (US$2.01 million) in agricultural sector losses, including more than NT$51.11 million in crop damage and NT$16.72 million in aquaculture damage, Council of Agriculture statistics showed yesterday. Twenty percent of the crops on a total of 509 hectares of farmland were lost, mainly bell fruit, tea, tangerines, bananas, pineapples, musk melons, rice and betel nuts, in Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Nantou and Pingtung counties. Aquaculture operations in five counties and cities were affected, including fish and shrimp farms in Yunlin and Chiayi counties, as well as milkfish farms in Tainan and Kaohsiung counties.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
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