The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday asked Central Weather Bureau personnel to exercise greater caution after a weather report caused confusion among the public.
Bureau Research and Development Center Director Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典) on Sunday posted satellite images, which he said showed plumes of smoke rising from the ground.
Netizens said that the smoke was rising from Taichung’s Houli District (后里) after matching the images with a map of the city.
The Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau sent its personnel to find the source of the smoke, but to no avail.
Cheng later apologized for misinterpreting the images, saying he had mistaken cirrus clouds for smoke caused by fire.
New Power Party Legislator Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) said in a question-and-answer session at the meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee that the staff at her office have been busy answering calls from concerned residents in Taichung, but the staff had no information about the images and could not provide answers.
Hung said that her staff contacted Cheng, who informed them about the mistake.
Taichung residents are particularly concerned about air pollution, she said, adding that the ministry should be more careful when publishing pollution-related information.
Department of Aviation and Navigation Director-General Chen Chin-sheng (陳進生) said that Cheng has many Facebook followers because he used to be the bureau’s Weather Forecast Center director.
The bureau has also examined the images and verified that they were cirrus clouds, with shapes and forms resembling solid waste on the ground.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-jong (祁文中) said that the ministry has insisted that Cheng verify the information.
Cheng and the bureau corrected the reports, Chi said, adding that they would endeavor to be more careful.
Taiwanese barista Xie Yi-chen (謝溢宸) recently triumphed at the 2024 World Coffee Championships, taking home 1st place in the World Latte Art category. Xie, 28, impressed the judges in the final round with patterns of a whale, a moose, and a dragon in the three-day competition that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from June 27-29, clinching the title of latte art world champion during his first time representing Taiwan on the world stage. At a press conference held by the Taiwan Coffee Association on Thursday, Xie said that creating latte art gives him a tremendous feeling of achievement. Speaking about his entries in
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The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final