WEATHER
Week to bring summer heat
The nation is to experience warm summer weather in the coming week, with occasional afternoon showers or thunderstorms, said Daniel Wu (吳德榮), a professor of atmospheric science at National Central University and a former director of the Central Weather Bureau’s Weather Forecast Center. Today, tomorrow and Friday would be mostly sunny with occasional cloudy weather in the afternoons and intermittent showers, he said, adding that high temperatures would be 34°C to 36°C in the south and 32°C to 33°C in the north. However, on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, the weather would likely become less stable due to greater moisture, bringing occasional showers or thunderstorms, and lowering the mercury by 1°C or 2°C.
POLITICS
DPP passes resolutions
A meeting of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Election Committee, convened by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in her capacity as party chairperson, passed two resolutions yesterday. The first resolution suggested candidates for November’s local elections, recommending that the party’s Central Executive Committee recruit Hsu Ting-chen (徐定禎) as its candidate for Miaoli county commissioner, DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) as its candidate for Yunlin county commissioner and Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) as its candidate for Taichung mayor. The second one recommended that the Central Executive Committee consider recruiting mayoral candidates in Keelung and Hsinchu City, instead of holding a party primary, “given the particular electoral concerns in the two constituencies.”
EXCHANGES
Tsai speaks at NATWA event
The North America Taiwanese Women’s Association (NATWA) is playing an important role in facilitating exchanges between Taiwanese and people living in North America, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the association’s annual convention yesterday. In a prerecorded video, Tsai thanked the association for promoting Taiwan in North America and said she was looking forward to more association events related to the economy, society and culture. The association, which is a non-profit organization devoted to enhancing women’s dignity, contributing to democratic development in Taiwan and networking with women’s organizations worldwide, was established in 1988, and has more than 1,000 members in the US and Canada. With Taiwan-US relations improving, Tsai said she hoped the association would foster more exchanges between the two.
SOCIETY
Taoyuan sweep arrests 43
Taoyuan police on Saturday said that over the past week, they conducted a crackdown on “criminal elements,” leading to the arrest of 43 alleged gangsters. The sweep also seized five handguns and rifles, 190 bullets, and evidence that those detained belong to major crime syndicates and local gangs, police said. The suspects were allegedly involved in extortion, protection rackets and loan-sharking, they said. Separately, Tainan police said they conducted a sweep on Saturday that resulted in the arrest of 39 suspected gang members and other criminals. Part of the same two-week nationwide crackdown on organized crime, Tainan police said they busted seven criminal groups allegedly involved in extortion, protection rackets, loan-sharking and illegal drug trafficking. More than 300 pouches of narcotic coffee powder mix were seized in one of the raids, they said.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS