ENVIRONMENT
Kentucky scraps straws
US fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken on Tuesday said that it has stopped offering plastic straws at its restaurants in Taiwan. The firm said customers are encouraged to drink from the cup, but those with special needs would be given paper straws upon request. Stainless steel straws would be available for purchase, it added. The decision was made in compliance with the Environmental Protection Administration’s plan to ban the use of plastic straws in venues at government agencies, public and private schools, department stores and shopping malls, as well as fast-food stores, from July 1.
DIPLOMACY
Andrew Lee given Brunei job
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) has been named the nation’s new representative to Brunei, the ministry announced on Tuesday. Lee, 54, who has held the spokesman job since September 2017, is to replace Representative to Brunei William Lin (林維揚), who is to return to the ministry’s headquarters in Taipei. Lee, whose previous overseas posts include New York and London, is to take up his new post in August.
IMMIGRATION
Record number sent home
A total of 268 illegal immigrants were last month sent back to their home countries, the highest number under an amnesty program that was launched at the beginning of the year, the National Immigration Agency said. The program runs until June 30 with the aim of reducing the number of illegal immigrants in the nation, a figure that was approaching 90,000, it said. During the amnesty, illegal immigrants who turn themselves in face a maximum penalty of NT$2,000 and a limited re-entry ban or suspension of visa-free privileges, the agency said.
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