WHOLESALE
Tissue costs spike
Wholesale prices for popular tissue brands Mayflower, Delight and Tender would rise 8 percent next year amid a reported 40 percent-plus spike in raw material costs. The brands’ producer, Yuen Foong Yu Consumer Products Co, announced plans for the price hike yesterday, with the increase set to take effect after the Lunar New Year Holiday. The prices of pulp, packaging and power, which account for the bulk of its production costs, had increased more than 40 percent this year, with some nearly doubling, the company said. Hypermarkets Pxmart and Carrefour said that there are no plans at this time to pass the wholesale price increase on to consumers.
WILDLIFE
Cane toads face restrictions
Owners of cane toads are to face restrictions on breeding, sale and display of the amphibians, which are to be listed as a foreign invasive species, the Forestry Bureau said on Thursday. The cane toad, which is native to the Americas, is a foreign species that poses a risk to the local environment, the safety of other animals and the public, the bureau said, adding that restrictions are to take effect in the next 60 days and owners must register their cane toads with local authorities in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法). Failure to do so could result in a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$50,000, it said. Owners who want to give up their cane toads should take them to a local animal shelter or pass them to authorities for disposal, the bureau said, warning that deserting an animal could lead to fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
WEATHER
Christmas to bring cold
A cold air mass is set to push temperatures downward across Taiwan, with snow likely above 3,000m on Monday, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Temperatures are to drop in northern areas as a cold air mass arrives on Christmas Day today, before dropping in other parts of the country from tomorrow to Tuesday, the bureau said, adding that temperatures could dip as low as 12°C. Coastal areas near Keelung, mountainous areas in and around Taipei and in northeastern Taiwan might have heavy rain from today to Monday, it added. The combination of low temperatures and rain would make it feel particularly cold, the bureau said. However, it also forecast that the cold air mass would become weaker from Tuesday morning, leading to warmer weather.
CRIME
Men charged over beating
Local prosecutors yesterday charged three men accused of beating a university student in Taichung last month with attempted murder and intentionally causing bodily harm. Lee Wei-lin (李韋霖), 25, Chang Tun-liang (張敦量), 23, and Chen Chin-hao (陳勁豪), 19, were indicted over the Nov. 7 incident, which took place after a vehicle driven by an 18-year-old university student surnamed Sung (宋) clipped a Maserati while changing lanes at the intersection of Taiwan Boulevard and Henan Road, a Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office release said. Dashboard camera footage shows Lee — the driver of the Maserati — and two passengers, Chen and Chang, force Sung out of his car before assaulting him with a metal stick, despite Sung repeatedly apologizing after being pushed to the ground, prosecutors said, adding that the footage also showed Chang kicking Sung multiple times in the head as he lay on the ground. Sung was rendered unconscious and spent nearly three weeks in hospital before being discharged on Nov. 25.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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