POLITICS
Ma Ying-jeou visiting the US
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) departed to the US on Sunday, where he plans to deliver a speech at New York University, meet with academics from two Washington-based think tanks and attend a banquet hosted by Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Ma’s office said in a news release. Ma is also to lead a delegation of Taiwanese students from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation’s Dajiu Academy to visit the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Committee on US-China Relations in New York. During the trip, they are to meet with Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation academics at forums in Washington and members of the Committee of 100, a nonprofit US leadership organization composed of US citizens of Chinese descent. They are also to visit the New York headquarters of the World Journal, the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the US. Hsiao is to hold a dinner banquet in Ma’s honor at Twin Oaks in Washington.
WEATHER
Cooler weather forecast
Seasonal northeasterly winds are to affect Taiwan’s weather twice this week, bringing precipitation and lower temperatures, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Sunday. The first northeasterly wind system is likely to arrive today, while the second is to affect Taiwan from Friday to Sunday, CWA forecaster Chen I-hsiu (陳伊秀) said. The first system is to bring mild showers to the eastern half of Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula. With pressure increasing over the Pacific tomorrow and on Thursday, most of Taiwan would have cloudy skies with a chance of sun, but eastern Taiwan and mountainous areas would experience afternoon showers, Chen said. Northeasterly winds arriving on Friday would bring atmospheric precipitation, leading to periodic rain north of Taoyuan and in mountainous areas in the north and east, she said. This week, temperatures in the north and east would hit highs of 25°C to 27°C, while lows would range from 21°C to 24°C. Central and southern Taiwan would have highs of 29°C to 31°C and lows of 22°C to 25°C, she said.
AGRICULTURE
Official talks dairy concerns
Changhua County Commissioner Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) on Sunday praised her county’s dairy industry, but called on the central government to improve its management of dairy imports at the source. Changhua producers are not worried about competition from foreign countries, but they hope the government would require the place of origin to be clearly marked on imported milk, Wang said. Wang made the appeal as tariffs on dairy products from New Zealand are to be reduced to zero by Jan. 1, 2025, under the Taiwan-New Zealand Economic Cooperation Agreement. She did not elaborate on why she had the concerns.
HEALTHCARE
NHI expands cancer coverage
From next month, people with two types of cancer would be eligible to receive chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatment under the National Health Insurance (NHI) system, the National Health Insurance Administration said on Sunday. The treatment, which takes immune T-cells and modifies them with CARs so that they can recognize and destroy cancer cells, would be available to people with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that meet certain criteria, the agency said. Although the exact criteria have yet to be finalized, it is estimated that about 110 people would benefit, it said.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
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
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,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS