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.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
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