POLITICS
Tsai makes Swiss list
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been listed as one of five “women we will talk about in 2023” by Swiss media. The article published on Tuesday by 24 Heures and La Tribune de Geneve described Tsai as a “president who dares to confront Beijing.” Tsai did not hesitate to link Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Taiwan’s situation and reiterate that there is no room for compromise when defending democracy, the article said, adding that her words would be of great importance as next year’s presidential election approaches. It also noted her achievements as Taiwan’s first female president and in overseeing the legalization of marriage equality in 2019. The other women named were Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, US Vice President Kamala Harris and British Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles.
CRIME
Man nabbed over fake bills
A courier in Changhua County was on Wednesday arrested after 207 counterfeit banknotes of varying amounts were allegedly seized from his vehicle and home a day earlier, local police said yesterday. Two NT$1,000, five NT$500 and 200 NT$100 fake bills were discovered at the residence of the man, surnamed Lai (賴), in Dacun Township (大村) by police, who acted on a tip-off received on Tuesday. Lai told police that he spent NT$4,698 to buy 660 counterfeit banknotes online in November and that he had been giving customers the notes as change over the past three months. Police estimated that as of Wednesday, Lai might have racked up about NT$40,000 in illegal gains. At least four people had been known to have received fake bills, they said.
HEALTH
COVID-19 cases down 20%
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 18,414 COVID-19 infections, including 390 imported cases, and 48 deaths. The number of cases dropped 20.4 percent from the same day a week earlier, it said. The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s. All but six had underlying health issues, while 27 of them were not vaccinated against COVID-19, the CECC said. New Taipei City reported the highest number of new cases with 3,775, followed by Kaohsiung with 2,164 and Taichung with 2,145. Taoyuan reported 1,989 new cases, Taipei 1,917, Tainan 1,518, Changhua County 731, Hsinchu County 576, Hsinchu City 486, Miaoli County 426, Yunlin County 358, Keelung 354, Pingtung County 342 and Yilan County 245. Chiayi County had 231 cases, Hualien County 208, Nantou County 205, Chiayi City 139, Taitung County 96, Kinmen County 72, Penghu County 33 and Lienchiang County 14, the CECC said.
FOOD
Instant noodles seized
A shipment of instant noodles from South Korea was seized at the border, after being found to contain residue of a banned disinfectant, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday. A total of 1,128kg of Nongshim Shin Ramyun noodles with tofu and kimchi imported by Shing Her International was confiscated after sample testing on Dec. 9 detected 0.075mg/kg of ethylene oxide in the product’s seasoning sachets, the FDA said. Ethylene oxide, a widely used industrial product, is banned in foods in Taiwan, as it is classified as a first-class carcinogen. Long-term exposure can increase the risk of cancer and cause central nervous or peripheral neuropathy, it said. The Nongshim Shin Ramyun noodles would either be returned to the country of origin or destroyed, it 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