WEATHER
Heavy rain warning issued
The Central Weather Bureau yesterday issued a heavy rain warning, cautioning against sudden downpours in western parts of the country and the offshore counties in the next two days due to an approaching weather front with moisture-bearing southwestern winds. Penghu County residents were warned to be on the alert as rainfall of 130mm or more, accompanied by strong winds and lightning, is expected over the next 24 hours, the bureau said. The entire west coast from Taoyuan to Kaohsiung and Kinmen County is likely to see rainfall of up to 50mm over the same period, the bureau said. The rain is expected to abate on Thursday as a Pacific high-pressure system strengthens, the bureau said.
TOURISM
VAT refunds going online
Visitors will be able to claim their value-added tax (VAT) refund electronically, as well as at the airports and major shopping malls from the beginning of next year as part of efforts to make obtaining a VAT refund more convenient, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) said. The new policy would eliminate the need for travelers to line up at airports to get their refund for the tax paid on purchases of at least NT$3,000 made in one day at one Tax Refund Shopping-posted store, he said. The online procedure for applying for a refund would be handled by Chunghwa Telecom Co, which would charge a transaction fee of 14 percent for each traveler’s refund, Chang said, adding that the government will not receive any income from the electronic refund handling fee. The refund period allowed between a purchase and the traveler’s departure would also be extended from 30 days to 90 days, he said.
SOCIETY
Man sets himself alight
A man was hospitalized in intensive care at National Taiwan University Hospital after setting himself on fire in front of the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall at about 2:25am yesterday. Police provided few details about the man, except to say that he was about 30, an average citizen and had suffered burns to 90 percent of his body. Chinese-language media reports said the man doused himself in flammable liquid, set himself alight and ran toward the main archway on the west side of the memorial complex before collapsing under the archway. Security personnel put out the fire.
SOCIETY
Luo Lan dies at age 96
Veteran radio show host and renowned essayist Luo Lan (羅蘭), whose real name was Chin Pei-fen (靳佩芬), died on Saturday at the age of 96 in a hospital in Taipei. She was one of the most popular radio presenters in Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s, when radio was a main source of entertainment. Born in Tianjin, China, she gained fame for narrating the life experiences of people from all walks of life on her radio programs and compiling their stories into inspiring essays. She did not publish her first book until 1963, when she was already in her 40s. Her books became popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, including the Luo Lan Xiao Yu (羅蘭小語) series, a compilation of essays based on her broadcasts. She won her first literary prize in 1969, and the following year, the US Department of State invited her to visit the US. She won a Golden Bell award in 1974 for best radio program, and in 1979 she received a citation for social education from the Ministry of Education.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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