WEATHER
Cold front on the way
Temperatures across Taiwan are forecast to plummet with the arrival of a cold front tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Northern Taiwan is expected to have chilly weather tomorrow, with lows of 13°C, the CWA said. The cold would be more severe on Monday and Tuesday, when northern areas can expect lows of 7 to 9°C, it said. From Taichung to Tainan and in Hualien County, lows would fall to 8 to 10°C, while Kaohsiung, as well as Pingtung and Taitung counties, would have lows of 11 to 13°C, the CWA said. Sporadic showers are expected in the north, east and mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan, while other areas would be mainly cloudy tomorrow, it said. On Monday and Tuesday, rain is expected in central regions. Snow might fall at altitudes higher than 1,000m to 1,500m in the north from Monday night, and in areas higher than 2,500m in central, southern and eastern Taiwan on Tuesday. Icy roads and rime ice can be expected in areas likely to have snow, it added.
MILITARY
Taiwan ranked No. 24
Taiwan has the 24th-most powerful military in the world, down one place from last year, an annual survey published on Jan. 9 by Global Firepower showed. Taiwan had a “Power Index” of 0.3302, with a “perfect score” being 0.0, said Global Firepower, a Web site that keeps track of global defense information. The ranking of 145 states was based on their potential war-making capability across land, sea and air fought by conventional means, it said. The results incorporate values related to personnel, equipment, natural resources, finances and geography, with more than 60 individual factors used to calculate the final ranking, it said. Taiwan has 2.58 million military personnel, including 215,000 active-duty troops and 2.31 million reserve soldiers, it said. The US topped the list with a score of 0.0699, followed by Russia (0.0702), China (0.0706), India (0.1023) and South Korea (0.1416), the Web site showed. The UK (0.1443), Japan (0.1601), Turkey (0.1697), Pakistan (0.1711) and Italy (0.1863) were sixth to 10th. Taiwan, which dropped one place after Germany rose from 25th last year to 19th this year, was one below Saudi Arabia. Taiwan’s highest placing in the rankings — which go back to 2005 — was in 2011, when it was 14th.
FARMING
Geese culled over H5N1
A goose farm in Yunlin County on Thursday was confirmed to have been infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus, leading to the culling of 1,477 geese, the Yunlin County Animal Disease Control Center said. Inspections were carried out after the farm in Dongshi Township (東石) on Jan. 14 reported to authorities that its geese had died in an abnormal manner, the center said. The culling began immediately after results of sample testing confirmed that geese at the farm had the H5N1 virus, the center said. It was the second report of avian flu in Dongshi this month after a chicken farm, at which 19,100 birds were culled. The two farms are just 1km apart, the center said, adding that it suspects the two reports are linked. Liao Pei-chih (廖培志), head of the Yunlin center, said the risk of poultry farms being exposed to H5N1 brought by migratory birds is relatively high. Farmers should reduce risks by tightening access to their property, and enhancing disinfection of personnel and vehicles, Liao said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
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