WEATHER
Typhoon to bring rain
Typhoon Rai is expected to cause rain across Taiwan from today to Wednesday as it moves closer to the nation, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. Rain is forecast to begin today, before intensifying tomorrow when heavy rainfall is predicted nationwide, the bureau said. Rainfall is to ease on Wednesday, with the exception of northern and northeastern areas, where sporadic showers might continue, it added. As of 8am, Rai was 1,400km southwest of Pingtung County’s Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), moving north at 19kph, the bureau said. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, it added. Meanwhile, former CWB Weather Forecast Center director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said a cold front is to lower temperatures across Taiwan starting on Saturday, and from Sunday to Monday next week, temperature could fall below 12°C.
TRANSPORTATION
Kaohsiung trials light rail
A newly completed section of Kaohsiung’s circular light rail system on Thursday opened on a trial basis, with free rides ahead of its official launch next month. The trains run on a section between Gushan District (鼓山) Office Station and Museum of Fine Arts Station, until Jan. 2, the city’s Mass Rapid Transit Bureau said. Passengers can ride for free between 6:30am and 10pm daily. The trains run every 10 minutes during peak hours and every 15 minutes in off-peak hours, stopping at Gushan, Makadao and Museum of Fine Arts stations, it said.
LABOR
Fewer working abroad
The number of Taiwanese working overseas fell from 739,000 in 2019 to 501,000 last year, the lowest level since 2009, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) data showed. The 32.2 percent drop brought the number of Taiwanese working abroad to the lowest level since records began, the DGBAS said on Wednesday. Last year, China, including Hong Kong and Macau, was the most popular destination, accounting for 48.3 percent of all Taiwanese working overseas. About 17.1 percent worked in Southeast Asia and 15.4 percent in the US. The biggest drop in the number of Taiwanese working abroad was in China, falling by 153,000 to 242,000, while the number in the US declined by 16.5 percent, or 15,000.
TRADE
NZ lifts mango ban
New Zealand is to soon remove its prohibition on imported Taiwanese mangoes, which was imposed after it found live fly larvae in a shipment of lychees and mangoes in June, the Council of Agriculture said last week. The shipment was stopped at the border, and the larvae were confirmed to be of the oriental fruit fly, a dangerous pest found on a wide range of fruits. At the time, council official Tsou Hui-chuan (鄒慧娟) said the larvae had been found only on lychees and not mangoes, even though they were part of the same shipment. New Zealand suspended imports of both fruits, as they are known to be hosts for the oriental fruit fly, she said. After discussions between the nations, New Zealand agreed to lift the import ban on the mangoes, on the condition of a quarantine process, Tsai said, adding that the measures would be completed this week. Meanwhile, talks are in progress on setting a quarantine requirement for the importation of Taiwanese lychee, she added.
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
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to