WEATHER
Tropical storm possible
A tropical depression east of Guam could soon be upgraded to a tropical storm, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday, adding that it would be able to better ascertain how it would affect Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was moving northwest at 16kph, bureau data showed. Bureau forecaster Hsieh Pei-yun (謝佩芸) said the tropical depression was nearly 4,000km from Taiwan. Meanwhile, high temperatures are forecast until Saturday as a Pacific high-pressure system yesterday expanded west to cover Taiwan, she said. Chances of temporary showers or thundershowers would remain high until Thursday morning in coastal areas in central and southern Taiwan, the bureau said. Afternoon thundershowers would occur mainly in mountainous areas and Taipei and New Taipei City, although there might still be bursts of intense rainfall in some regions, it added.
SOCIETY
Expats return from Myanmar
Seventy-one Taiwanese expats and eight foreign nationals returned to Taiwan yesterday via a chartered Myanmar Airways International flight, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that its office in the Southeast Asian country was asked by the Myanmar Taiwanese Business Association to help arrange the charter flight to Taiwan. Direct flights between the two countries have been disrupted since Myanmar was listed by Taiwan as a key high-risk country for COVID-19 infection in the middle of last month. Meanwhile, the Indonesia Taiwan Chambers of Commerce is arranging a charter flight from Indonesia by the end of this month operated by Garuda Indonesia, the ministry said. Indonesia is also listed as a key high-risk country.
AGRICULTURE
Rain losses total NT$577m
Agricultural losses caused by torrential rainfall across Taiwan this month had reached NT$577 million (US$20.71 million) as of yesterday morning, with Chiayi County the worst hit, the Council of Agriculture said. Farmers in central and southern Taiwan lost the most crops, livestock and equipment due to the heavy rainfall that has inundated Taiwan since Aug. 6, the council said. Chiayi County has racked up NT$125 million in losses to date, council data showed. Kaohsiung and Nantou County have reported estimated losses of about NT$106 million each, while Pingtung, Yunlin and Changhua counties and Tainan have reported more than NT$40 million in losses each.
CONSERVATION
Goodall to create academy
British primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall plans to establish a sustainability academy in Taipei as part of a group of projects in Asia using the funds she received last year for winning the Tang Prize in sustainable development, the Tang Prize Foundation said on Wednesday. Goodall’s Conservation Projects of Asia would promote awareness of conservation and sustainability in Taiwan, India and Malaysia, the foundation said, after signing a memorandum of agreement with the Jane Goodall Institute of Taiwan. The projects would be funded with a NT$10 million grant to help expand the influence of Tang Prize winners and would include a Jane Goodall Sustainability Academy in Taipei, the foundation said in a statement. The academy would cater to elementary-school students, teaching them about nature, it said. The projects would be carried out through December 2025, it said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
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