A sea warning could be issued for Typhoon Mawar as soon as early tomorrow, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The typhoon is forecast to make its closest approach to Taiwan in the next two days, and as of 8pm yesterday, it was 1,200km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point.
It was moving at 23kph in a westerly direction, with maximum sustained winds of 198kph and gusts of 244.8kph near the center, bureau data showed.
Photo: Central Weather Bureau
The typhoon is forecast to continue moving westward until it nears the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, bureau forecaster Chao Hung (趙竑) said.
Mawar would then begin to slow and turn north, but the timing remains uncertain, he said.
Chances of a land warning remain slim, the bureau said.
Mawar would mostly affect Taiwan proper from tomorrow to Thursday, bringing rain to Taipei, New Taipei City, the northern areas of Keelung, eastern Taiwan and the Henchung Peninsula, the bureau said.
Heavy rains could occur in northeastern Taiwan and are unlikely to abate until Friday, it added.
The Forestry Bureau yesterday warned people to avoid mountainous areas, saying that anyone who is in the mountains should leave immediately.
Meanwhile, 115 tourists from Taiwan are stranded in Guam after Typhoon Mawar battered the island earlier this week and forced its airport to close.
Lion Travel Service Co (雄獅旅行社) yesterday said that they are all independent travelers who departed for Guam on May 19, and were supposed to return via Starlux Airlines Flight JX-8071 on Tuesday.
Hotel arrangements have been made for them, Lion Travel said, adding it was in talks with Starlux to bring the stranded travelers back home once the airport reopens.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS