WEATHER
Mercury in north to drop
The sunshine and clear skies in northern Taiwan are likely to end tomorrow, with strong northeasterly winds bringing wet weather and temperatures dropping by several degrees, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. It was mostly clear across Taiwan, with highs of 25°C to 26°C and lows of 16°C to 17°C in the north, and 18°C to 19°C degrees elsewhere, the bureau said. However, the sunny weather will only last for one more day, with the mercury forecast to drop to 19°C to 21°C in the daytime, it said. It forecast that Christmas Day on Tuesday would see warmer weather thanks to a weakening monsoon, with highs of up to 24°C, but the warmth would not last until Wednesday, when another cold air front could drop the mercury in the north to 14°C.
TOURISM
Taiwan on Airbnb list
Airbnb has selected Taiwan as one of 19 destinations worth visiting next year as more Airbnb users include the nation in their booking wish lists, the firm said on Thursday. The company selected 19 travel destinations based on a combination of internal search, booking and wish list data, and said that Taiwan ranked 19th. The inclusion of Taiwan on wish lists on the platform grew by more than 100 percent from November last year to last month. The platform has always been optimistic about Taiwan’s tourism potential and hopes that the list will help its tourism industry and increase its visibility in the international tourist community, Airbnb general manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan Mike Orgill said.
HEALTH
Cambodia tops dengue list
The number of imported dengue fever cases that originated in Cambodia has increased sharply to 66 this year, compared with eight last year, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said yesterday. Cambodia was the largest source of imported dengue fever cases in Taiwan this year, he said. Chuang said the total number of imported cases registered this year until Thursday was 330, with the three main sources being Cambodia, Vietnam (62) and the Philippines (56). Last year, 104 cases originated in Vietnam and 39 in the Philippines, Chuang said. The big jump in infections from Cambodia was due to an increase in Taiwanese visitors to the country this year, he added.
DIPLOMACY
Diaoyutai claims restated
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday reiterated the nation’s claim over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in the East China Sea, known as the Senkakus in Japan, after the Japanese government issued a protest to the ministry over a record number of Taiwanese fishing vessels operating near the islands, which Taipei and Tokyo both claim. The Yomiuri Shimbun on Wednesday reported that the Japanese coast guard had registered a record number of Taiwanese fishing vessels “intruding” within 12 nautical miles (22km) of the Diaoyutais, the distance normally marking territorial waters. Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) reaffirmed that the Diaoyutais are territory of the Republic of China. The foreign ministry would engage in rational dialogue with Japan on the matter, he added. Despite the sovereignty dispute between Taiwan and Japan, fishers from both countries can operate in the overlapping areas of their exclusive economic zones in the East China Sea under the 2013 Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
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
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
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