WEATHER
Koinu land warning lifted
The land warning for Typhoon Koinu was lifted yesterday morning as the storm left Taiwan and headed toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that downpours were still likely in parts of the country. The sea warning was lifted at about 11:30am, it said. However, the CWA continued to issue heavy rain warnings in eastern, northern and southern Taiwan, cautioning against mudslides, falling rocks and flooding. Taitung County and mountainous regions of Pingtung County could be the hardest hit, with more than 200mm of rainfall expected within the day, or more than 100mm within 3 hours, the CWA said. In Yilan and Hualien counties, as well as in the rest of Pingtung and coastal areas in Taipei and New Taipei cities, rainfall could top 80mm during the day or 40mm in an hour, it said. People in the outlying counties of Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties should stay vigilant against the possibility of strong winds, which could reach 88kph, it added.
LITERATURE
Novel translation awarded
A Spain-based academic has won the 2023 PEN Catalan Translation Award with her translation of a work by Taiwanese novelist Wu Ming-yi (吳明益) into Catalan, the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. Autonomous University of Barcelona professor Mireia Vargas-Urpi, who teaches in the school’s Department of Translation and Interpretation and East Asia Studies, was awarded the honor for her translation of Wu’s The Man With the Compound Eyes (複眼人), the PEN Catala announced on Friday last week, the ministry said. Her Catalan translation published last year was the 18th translation of the novel since its publication in 2011.
CRIME
E-cigarette factory raided
An electronic cigarette factory was discovered on Wednesday in New Taipei City, the first illegal facility of its kind discovered in Taiwan since new tobacco control regulations took effect in March, the city government said on Thursday. E-cigarettes were banned in Taiwan starting March 22 as part of amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防治法). Acting on a tip-off, a National Immigration Agency brigade launched a search on Wednesday at a residential unit in Sanchong District (三重) and found four undocumented migrant workers and a foreigner who overstayed their visa at the location. The five individuals were found making and packaging e-cigarettes at the site, the city government said. Authorities found three e-cigarette packaging and filling machines, 84 cartons of finished vaping products, four cartons of semi-finished products and 35 bottles of e-cigarette liquids at the site, with a street value of nearly NT$10 million (US$310,492), which were seized and sealed, it said.
CRIME
Two arrested over drugs
Two suspects linked to an alleged cross-border drug trafficking scheme that involved disguising amphetamines as milk powder were arrested after a shipment of narcotics smuggled into Taiwan was seized earlier this year, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Tuesday. CIB Third Investigation Corps Captain Chang Wen-yuan (張文源) told a news conference that a man surnamed Hsiao (蕭), 35, and an accomplice surnamed Chen (陳), 28, were taken into custody after 10.46kg of amphetamines in 10 cans of milk powder, with a street value of more than NT$10 million, were seized in two raids in April.
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The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
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