WEATHER
Temperatures to rise
Temperatures across the nation could rise significantly over this week, starting today with daytime highs of 20°C to 26°C nationwide, the Central Weather Bureau said. From tomorrow to Wednesday, the mercury is expected to climb even higher, with daytime temperatures set to hover between 22°C and 27°C nationwide, the bureau said yesterday. Meanwhile, sporadic showers can be expected in northern and northeastern areas today and the chances of rain are likely to increase until mid-week, as clouds heavy with moisture move in from the south, the bureau said. It said that a newly formed tropical storm in the Pacific is unlikely to affect the nation significantly. Tropical Storm Sonamu, the first storm of this year’s Pacific typhoon season, was centered 1,800km south-southwest of Taiwan’s southernmost tip as of 8am yesterday, bureau forecasters said.
SOCIETY
Book fair to be held on ship
The Germany-registered passenger ship Logos Hope is scheduled to hold a book fair at Keelung Port from tomorrow until Jan. 20, the organizers said yesterday. More than 5,000 books on science, sport, cuisine, art, philosophy and language will be on display the German charity Good Books for All (GBA) Ships said. There will also be a “life experience” section that will allow visitors to, for example, feel what it is like to be an AIDS patient, the organizers said. Logos Hope is the latest addition to GBA Ships and is twice the size of MV Doulos, a similar type of floating bookstore that has visited the nation several times. The ship is carrying about 400 volunteer crew members from 56 countries, working in positions such as engineers, accountants and chefs.They will engage in cultural exchanges with visitors, the organizers said.
TRANSPORT
Spanish firm wins rail bid
A company from Spain has won the opening bid to build a light rail system in Greater Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung City Government Secretary-General Wu Hung-mo (吳宏謀) said Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles won the bid with a project cost estimate of about NT$5.68 billion (US$195.86 million), lower than the NT$5.8 billion base price set by the government. The Spanish firm will construct the project jointly with the Taipei-based Evergreen Construction Corp, Wu said. The 8.7km light rail transport system is a major project that is expected to help promote economic development in the area near Kaohsiung Port, according to the city government. The transport system will connect many important facilities in the city.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Representative appointed
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷) has been appointed Taiwan’s representative to the EU and Belgium, the Presidential Office announced on Friday. Tung, 60, will take up the post that was made vacant when his predecessor, David Lin (林永樂), was appointed foreign minister late last year. Once he formally assumes office, Tung is expected to push for a working holiday agreement with Belgium and an economic cooperation agreement with the EU. Well-versed in European and North American affairs, Tung has been posted in Houston and New York before taking over as deputy representative to the US in April 2008. Joseph Shih (石定), current deputy head of the ministry’s Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs, will succeed Tung as vice foreign minister.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
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