SOCIETY
Blackout prompts change
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) yesterday pledged to review and adjust its electricity supply for Taiwan’s outlying islands during the peak summer season after Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) lost power for an hour on Saturday. The utility said the power outage, which hit the island just off the northwest coast of Pingtung County at about 7:30pm, was caused by hot weather and large numbers of tourists turning on electrical appliances. The island’s power demand hit a record high of 12,475 kilowatts (kW), and the system tripped as it was overloaded, it said. After confirming that there were no other malfunctions, Taipower was able to restore electricity to the island after about an hour, it said. Over the past three years, Siaoliouciou’s highest electricity loads have been recorded between 7pm and 8pm, Taipower said. It hit a peak of 11,660kW on June 8 during the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend, and on June 22 last year peaked at 11,700kW. The Pingtung County Government’s Transportation and Tourism Development Department said 10,418 people arrived on Siaoliouciou on Saturday, a typical number for a weekend during peak travel season. The island is undergoing a systematic voltage change that is expected to increase electricity supply, Taipower said.
WEATHER
Taitung’s Jinfeng hits 37.5°C
Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) recorded a temperature of 37.5°C at 1:50pm yesterday, the highest in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An orange heat alert has been issued for Taitung, signaling a high probability of at least three consecutive days of temperatures reaching 36°C or higher. Hualien County is under a yellow alert, indicating a chance of temperatures exceeding 36°C. The top 10 hottest locations in the nation yesterday also included areas in Yilan, Miaoli and Hsinchu counties, as well as Taipei, the data showed. CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said the weather this week would predominantly consist of high temperatures with localized, brief thunderstorms in the afternoon. Over the next two days, areas in the southeast might record temperatures above 36°C, Yeh said. Areas south of Greater Taipei and mountainous regions could have more intense afternoon thunderstorms, but rainfall is expected to decrease after nightfall, he said.
DIPLOMACY
Nats host pilot Taiwan Day
Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Saturday threw the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Park in Washington during a pilot Taiwan Day event before the Washington Nationals’ Major League Baseball game against the Miami Marlins. The event drew 500 to 600 Taiwanese, and the 500 limited-edition jerseys with the name “Taiwan DC” and the number “08” — which sounds like “your father” in Taiwanese — were sold out. Lee Hou (侯立宸), who initiated the event, said it was a “proof of concept” game, meaning that if the event was viable based on ticket sales, Taiwan Day would become a standard event from next year. Hou said that to make Taiwan Day an official event, 250 tickets had to be sold through the Taiwan Day landing page, and more than 500 were sold, meaning there is a good chance it would be approved. Hou, 23, a Taiwanese-American baseball enthusiast who used to work for the Washington Nationals, said that after seeing the success of Taiwan Day events in Los Angeles, Seattle and other places, he “made a wish” to add more “Taiwan flavor” to Washington, where he grew up.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
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