WEATHER
Hail peppers Alishan visitors
A rare barrage of hailstones yesterday fell on Alishan, stunning visitors at the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area in southern Chiayi County. Ice pellets of about 0.9cm fell unexpectedly between 2:04pm and 2:18pm, the Central Weather Administration’s Alishan observation station said. The hail near the Jhaoping station on the Alishan Forest Railway line lasted until about 2:40pm, the station said. Many visitors and train passengers were quick to take pictures and film the rare scene, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office workers said. The station, which said the temperature on Alishan at the time was 19.7°C, attributed the hail to a cold-core low pressure system passing over Taiwan. The presence of the system increased the temperature difference between the upper atmosphere and warm surface temperatures, leading to the development of convective currents that can lead to thunderstorms and the formation of hail, it said.
SPORTS
Taiwan wins e-sports title
Taiwanese e-sports team Ban Mei Gaming (BMG) on Sunday defeated a team from Thailand to win this year’s Arena of Valor Premier League championship title in Bangkok. BMG routed Thailand’s Buriram United Esports 4-1 in Arena of Valor, a multiplayer online game, to walk home with US$200,000 of prize money. BMG member Wu Cheng-yen (吳承晏) was also named the Finals’ Most Valuable Player after the tournament. Wu said he first started playing Arena of Valor with friends in elementary school, and later dreamed of becoming a professional player in junior-high school. His parents were against the idea of him trying to make a living in gaming, but soon acquiesced when he convinced them his e-sports skills had surpassed his abilities at school, he said. “They became supportive even before I had won anything,” he added. The tournament, which ran from June 12 to Sunday, featured teams from Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Hong Kong.
SOCIETY
Fewer balloon festival visitors
The annual Taiwan International Balloon Festival on Saturday opened in Taitung County’s Luye Township (鹿野) with fewer visitors than usual, as tourism has been significantly affected after a massive earthquake in April in neighboring Hualien County. About 15,000 visitors attended the opening, the Taitung County Government said. Officials estimated the number of visitors at this year’s opening was about 30 percent lower than in previous years. Pan Kuei-lan (潘貴蘭), vice chairperson of Taitung’s Luminous Hot Spring Resort & Spa and former Taitung Tourism Association head, said that although the crowds were smaller than in previous years, tourists are gradually returning, adding that she hopes that the 45-day event would help bring tourists back to the county. After the opening ceremony, 21 hot air balloons of different designs, including a panda-shaped balloon from Japan and a Matsu (媽祖) balloon created by the county government and Taitung City Tianhou Temple were launched. The festival is to feature more than 40 hot air balloons from 14 countries, Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴) said. In addition, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty, the festival was collaborating with Sanrio Taiwan to present 12 Night Glow Concerts, the most ever in the festival’s history, Taitung County Transportation and Development Department head Pu Ming-cheng (卜敏正) said.
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s
Military photovoltaic projects have been found to have used Chinese-made devices blacklisted by the government, including Huawei Technologies Co routers, the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau said on Thursday. An ongoing investigation has identified the illegal use of 128 current transformers, two routers and a data reader at the Hungchailin Army Base, Pinghai Navy Base and Tri-Service General Hospital’s Songshan branch, it said. The devices were manufactured in the Chinese factories of German solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics Co, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei and Taiwanese industrial PC maker Advantech Co, the bureau said. The bureau’s
Hong Kong’s Andy Lau (劉德華) on Wednesday announced that he would perform in Taiwan for the first time since 2013, with four shows at the Taipei Arena from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. The concerts are part of Lau’s upcoming “Today... is the Day” tour, which began in Shanghai yesterday. He is also to perform in Singapore and Malaysia as part of the tour. In a news release, Lau said it felt good to be able to rehearse his dancing and singing for the tour, even though he had to don a face mask. “Holding these concerts has been something I have
Beijing’s recent provocative actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea were partly meant as a “dress rehearsal” for the invasion of Taiwan, former US deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger said at a Heritage Foundation forum in Washington on Tuesday. Beijing’s blocking of a Philippine resupply mission on June 17 with unprecedented violence had multiple implications. “What they’re doing is trying to demonstrate that they can blockade, create a sense of futility and discredit the idea that the United States is going to help not only the Philippines, but by extension Taiwan,” Pottinger said. Pottinger was referring to a clash