WEATHER
Typhoon to bring rain
Tropical Storm Bebinca is forecast to become a typhoon today and bring wet and windy weather across Taiwan in the coming days as it charts a northwesterly course in seas north of the country. Northern areas can expect brief showers today, while other regions would likely experience conditions similar to yesterday, with localized afternoon thunderstorms in mountainous areas in Miaoli County and areas south of the county, Central Weather Administration forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) said. Yunlin County, areas south of the county and Nantou County might experience localized heavy rain, Chang said. As Bebinca approaches Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan is to experience further rain. On Sunday, northern areas would likely see brief showers, while afternoon thunderstorms are forecast in central and southern parts of the country. The storm is expected to be closest to Taiwan on Sunday and Monday, bringing further wet and stormy weather as it approaches China.
POLITICS
Journalist to fill Cabinet post
Journalist Michelle Lee (李慧芝) is to assume office as Cabinet spokesperson today, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) announced yesterday. Lee is to take over the post from acting spokesperson Julia Hsieh (謝子涵), the deputy spokesperson who temporarily replaced former spokesman Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱), after Chen was promoted to minister of transportation and communications at the end of last month. Lee, 44, has been employed in the media sector for 15 years. She worked as a reporter, news anchor and TV producer after graduating from Goldsmiths, University of London and National Chengchi University.
EVENTS
A-Mei to perform at Dome
Pop singer A-mei (張惠妹) yesterday announced she is to hold concerts at the Taipei Dome on Dec. 21, 22, 28, 29 and a special New Year’s Eve performance on Dec. 31, where she will ring in the new year with her fans. “Only a spectacular artist dares to close out the year,” Isaac Chen (陳鎮川), A-mei’s manager, wrote on Facebook. “With a venue this massive, the production would be nothing short of breathtaking.” A-mei’s world tour began in April 2022 at the Taipei Arena, where she set a personal record by selling out 12 shows. The tour continued in March last year at Kaohsiung Arena, where all 10 shows sold out. She also performed in the US, UK, Japan, Australia, Singapore and China.
SPORTS
Lai to support Paralympians
President William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday pledged to provide more government resources to support Taiwanese athletes with disabilities so they can “shine on the international stage.” Lai said the resources poured into Paralympic athletes were at the “same standard” offered to the Olympics team, such as the provision of accommodation and meal services, a training facility and physical therapy. Support for disabled athletes and their coaches “would only get better,” Lai said, adding that the government hopes to provide “a broader space” for individuals to pursue their sporting dreams so they can “shine on the international stage.” The president lauded the athletes for their “bravery” and praised them for setting a good example for young Taiwanese. Thirteen Taiwanese took part in the Paralympics this year, competing in seven sports categories and bringing home three silver and two bronze medals, the best performance for the national team since 2004.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its