WEATHER
CWA forecasts warm fall
The nation is likely to experience a warm autumn with above-average rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Pacific Ocean is warmer in the west and cooler in the east, which could indicate that La Nina might be developing, increasing the chances of warm and wet weather, CWA Weather Forecast Center Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) said on Friday. With the typhoon season in the northwestern part of the Pacific continuing through this month and next month, Taiwan could still be affected, he said. Between January and last month, temperatures averaged 24.8°C, above the 24°C average for the first half of the year since 1951, he said.
POLITICS
KMT begins youth program
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has initiated the “2024 KMT Youth Flying Program,” aimed at recruiting 12 people aged 18 to 35 to visit Singapore, with all expenses paid by the party. The program is an addition to KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) efforts to attract more young people to join the party, which have included speeches, conversation workshops and training camps, the party said yesterday. From Nov. 3 to Nov. 7, participants would visit Singaporean government agencies, foundations, the National University of Singapore and famous sustainable tourism sites, it said. Applicants must be Republic of China (ROC) citizens who identify with the ROC, while undergraduate and graduate students would be prioritized.
ENERGY
Officials to attend wind talks
Taiwan is to send representatives to Europe this month to discuss its local-content policy for wind farms following an EU request for dispute-settlement talks at the WTO. “The European Union is quite concerned about wind power, and Taiwan is to discuss a way with the EU that can be accepted by domestic and foreign manufacturers,” Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) told reporters on Monday, adding that Taiwan would gradually work toward an open market. The nation has been promoting wind power to meet clean-energy goals, but content rules requiring developers to source a portion of equipment and services from local manufacturers have proved contentious. Rystad Energy has estimated that the approach raises costs of some parts by as much as 70 percent. In July, the EU raised a request for dispute-settlement consultations at the WTO, saying the policy discriminated against imported goods and services.
SPACE
TASA to host science forum
The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) is to hold an international space science meeting in Kaohsiung in late November, the agency said on Wednesday. The Taiwan International Assembly of Space Science, Technology and Industry (TASTI) — set to open on Nov. 30 at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center — is to feature academic paper presentations, a small satellite contest, and seminars and forums covering topics such as satellite communications and lunar exploration, TASA said. Former NASA Ames Research Center director Simon Worden and Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese commander of the International Space Station, would be keynote speakers during the five-day assembly, it said. As part of the assembly, an industry expo, “TASTI 2024 Expo,” would feature 35 exhibitors across 53 booths, with TASA showcasing a demonstration model of the Formosat-8 project, a series of high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites set to be launched from next year, the agency said.
SCENARIOS: A potential conflict with Beijing would not be similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China would target energy and food supplies, a researcher said China is likely to continue using economic and cyberoperations against Taiwan to force it to capitulate without resorting to a military attack, Fox News reported yesterday, citing the outcome of a tabletop exercise. Washington-based think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) earlier this month held a tabletop exercise in Taipei focusing on Beijing’s use of economic and cybercoercion against Taiwan. The FDD mentioned an “anaconda strategy,” in which Beijing would likely use cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns followed by a blockade or other measures to strangulate Taiwan, rather than attempting an invasion, the report said. A large-scale cyberattack would be
HSINCHU CASES: Five people among 35 who were reported being sick were still in hospital after eating at a vendor in a market in Jhubei, the local health agency said Thirty-five people have sought medical treatment for acute symptoms after allegedly eating banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from a vendor in Jhubei City (竹北), the Hsinchu County Public Health Bureau said yesterday. The bureau said that since Saturday, it has received several reports of suspected food poisoning from hospitals. The vendor has been ordered to temporarily suspend its business, it said, adding that tests were being conducted to determine whether the people had food poisoning, with results expected in about two weeks. A preliminary investigation showed that the people who sought treatment had recently eaten banh mi at a vendor at a retail market
GOOD MODEL: Speaking at his book launch, Law said that Taiwan is the most democratic Chinese-speaking country, which is why Hong Kongers relocated here China has suffocated Hong Kong’s civil society and its next target could be Taiwan, Nathan Law (羅冠聰), cofounder of the disbanded pro-democracy Hong Kong political party Demosisto, said in Taipei yesterday. Law made the remarks at a launch in Taipei for his book When the Wind Blows — the Struggles for Freedom of Hong Kong (時代推著我們前行:羅冠聰的香港備忘錄). Law has been living in the UK since he fled Hong Kong in 2020, and the book is about his fighting for the cause of freedom in the area. He was granted political asylum in 2021. “Fleeing is a long and distressing process, but it also
IMITATING OTHERS? Tsai Ing-wen’s office said the former president rents a commercial unit for her personal office and had never used election funds to purchase real estate Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday confirmed that he used about NT$43 million (US$1.35 million) from his presidential election subsidy to purchase an office unit near the Legislative Yuan in May. Ko made the remarks after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) earlier in the day told a news conference that she received a tip-off that the TPP chairman had purchased a 48.76 ping (161.2m2) office unit at Jinan Building (濟南大樓), a commercial building in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正). Lin said that Ko purchased the unit on May 10, paying about NT$43 million in cash,