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.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
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