WEATHER
Temperatures to increase
Temperatures across Taiwan are to climb over the next week, with central and southern regions likely to see temperatures rise to 30°C on Thursday and Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan would still experience the effects of northeasterly winds over the weekend, with northern and northeastern parts of Taiwan proper to see cloudy weather, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said. A cold high-pressure system is to arrive in Taiwan today, dropping the mercury slightly in the northeastern areas. Peaks higher than 3,000m in the central and northern parts of Taiwan could experience snowfall until this morning, he said. After tomorrow, the nation would see weather patterns affected by easterly winds, meaning windward locations in the country should be aware of potential rainfall, he said. Central and southern Taiwan as well as the outlying Matsu Islands might experience foggy weather on Tuesday, he said. Additionally, with the mercury forecast to gradually climb daily starting tomorrow, temperatures across Taiwan could reach between 25°C and 26°C on Thursday and Friday, with central and southern Taiwan to see temperatures as high as 30°C, he said.
TRADE
Oyster checks to be set up
Oyster checks to be set up
A special program inspecting oysters’ countries of origin has been launched due to concerns over the false labeling of Vietnamese imports, the Fisheries Agency said last week. It said it had launched the program after local oyster suppliers reported to Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) that Chinese oysters — which are banned from Taiwan — had been transshipped through Vietnam and relabeled. Suppliers in Tainan also expressed concerns to Chen that such imports were being fraudulently sold as Taiwanese, local media reports said. Chen, citing Customs Administration data, said that Vietnamese oyster imports had increased significantly over the past five years, with annual shipments into Taiwan increasing from 201 tonnes in 2019 to 3,937 tonnes last year. Responding to the case, the agency said the Ministry of Agriculture has applied technical evaluations — “TFDAF0035.00” and “TFDAF0036.00” — developed last year to identify the oysters’ places of origin. Several agencies have cooperated to track the countries of origin of all oysters on sale, while law enforcement officials would handle the cases in accordance with related legislation if any substandard oysters were found, it added.
IMMIGRATION
Four arrested over fees
Four people have been indicted for allegedly collecting up to NT$25 milion (US$798,594) in illegal brokerage fees from migrant workers since 2020, the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office said on Thursday. An investigation launched last year following a tip-off from the National Immigration Agency’s Keelung brigade led to two Taiwanese men, surnamed Wang (王) and Wei (魏), as well as a Vietnamese woman surnamed Nguyen and her boyfriend being charged with contravening the Employment Services Act (就業服務法), document forgery and fraud, the prosecutors’ office said. The four allegedly recruited and brought about 100 Vietnamese migrant workers into Taiwan, which resulted in NT$25 million of illegal gains, it said. Prosecutors said Wang, Wei, Nguyen and 10 other people allegedly established 10 shell firms using fake documents.
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,
‘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
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
RSS