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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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