■ WEATHER
Typhoons forecast
Unstable weather is expected over Taiwan in the next couple of days, when two tropical depressions in adjacent areas are likely to develop into typhoons, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. The tropical depression located near the Ryukyu Islands was moving north-northwest at 25kph, while the other one near the South China Sea was stagnant, forecasters said. The systems do not pose any direct threat to Taiwan for the time being, they added. Meanwhile, another tropical depression was taking shape in waters southeast of Taiwan, which together with the other two depressions will form a large depression belt, forecasters said. As the belt moves closer to Taiwan today, chances of rain will significantly increase around the nation, the bureau said.
■ SOCIAL WELFARE
Disadvantaged up 27%
The number of disadvantaged households rose nearly 27 percent to 15,077 in the first six months of this year, with 90,146 people receiving financial assistance from the government, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The government provided NT$228.9 million (US$7.2 million) to disadvantaged families from January to June, up 20 percent from the same period last year. The ministry said the number of families receiving assistance increased because of an amendment last year to the Act on Assisting Families in Difficult Circumstances (特殊境遇家庭扶助條例) that made single fathers and those families in which grandparents raise their grandchildren eligible for government subsidies and allowances. The act — originally aimed mostly at taking care of women — was first implemented in March 2008. It was amended last year to include eligible single fathers, grandparents and people under the age of 65 whose spouse has died.
■ FISHERIES
Taiwan joins tuna agency
Taiwan yesterday officially became a full member of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), which entitles it to vote in the commission’s policy-making process and gives a boost to the rights of Taiwanese fishermen, the Council of Agricultural Affairs announced on Friday. At a time when international management of tuna stocks has become increasingly restrictive, Taiwan’s full membership in the IATTC is very helpful in protecting Taiwanese fishing boats operating on the high seas, the council’s Fisheries Agency said. The IATTC is in charge of the management and conservation of tuna in the East Pacific, an important fishing ground for high-value species such as bigeye and yellowfin tuna for Taiwanese fishing vessels. Taiwan has been an IATTC observer since 1973, but that status did not confer voting rights.
■ DIPLOMACY
Chow Mei-ching to visit Haiti
First lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) is scheduled to make a humanitarian trip to Haiti today after the Caribbean country was devastated by a major earthquake in January, World Vision Taiwan said. She will make the trip as honorary president of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China and as “Love Ambassador” for World Vision. According to World Vision, Chow will give away solar-powered light fixtures as part of Taiwan’s continuing effort to help its ally get back on its feet. After Haiti, Chow will also make a two-day stopover in the Dominican Republic, where she will visit a job training center, two primary schools and a health center. The first lady is scheduled to return to Taiwan next Sunday.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
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