Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would “in principle” call a typhoon day together for Thursday if conditions brought by Typhoon Khanun meet the necessary criteria, city mayors said on Wednesday.
As the storm shifts further west, the chances of winds reaching at least Level 7 on the Beaufort Scale in northern Taiwan have increased to 80 percent in Keelung, 75 percent in Taipei, 72 percent in New Taipei City and 66 percent in Taoyuan, Central Weather Bureau data showed.
The bureau issued a sea alert for Khanun on Tuesday evening and said it does not rule out issuing a land alert, which is expected to be called by 5:30pm on Wednesday if applicable.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Bureau
The cities are closely monitoring the storm’s path and forecasted conditions, and are preparing emergency response teams, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told reporters at a morning event attended by representatives from the four local governments.
Asked whether they would announce a typhoon day by 8pm, Chiang said the cities would together discuss current conditions and commuting difficulties, placing public safety as the highest priority.
Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) said that although conditions are expected to be better in his city, heavy rain is still expected.
The four cities would “in principle” synchronize their response, he added.
A typhoon day may be called if the radius of a cyclone is to pass through the municipality within four hours, with sustained winds at Level 7 or gusts of Level 10 or higher.
It may also be called if accumulated rainfall is forecast to total at least 350mm over the following 24 hours.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every