WEATHER
Heavy rain expected
Rain is forecast for northern and eastern Taiwan due to the proximity of Tropical Storm Trami, which was near the Philippines, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Heavy rain or extremely heavy rain is forecast in northern Taiwan, and Yilan and Hualien counties from early this morning through tomorrow with Trami predicted to cross Luzon Island and move toward the Indochinese Peninsula, CWA forecaster Liu Yu-chi (劉宇其) said. The storm, which was 800km from Taiwan’s southeastern coast, would not directly affect Taiwan, and the chances of storm warnings for Taiwan are low, Liu said. However, its outer ring would extend into the Bashi Channel between the Philippines’ Batan Island and Taitung County’s Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), he said. Warm southeasterly winds introduced by Trami are expected to converge with cold northeasterly winds over Taiwan, creating an “accompanied effect” that would deliver rain, he said. Downpours are expected from today to early tomorrow, mainly in mountainous areas in Yilan and Hualien counties, before the storm gradually moves away from Taiwan on Saturday, Liu said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Jay Chou tickets sell out
Tickets for pop star Jay Chou’s (周杰倫) four concerts at the Taipei Dome in December sold out within five minutes yesterday afternoon. The pop star is holding concerts for his Carnival World Tour at the new arena from Dec. 5 to 8, the first time he is to perform in Taiwan in years. Tickets went on sale at noon on the tixCraft Web site for the concerts, set to be the largest indoor solo concerts ever in Taiwan. The Web site recorded 890,583 concurrent visits, with 150,000 tickets purchased, JVR Music said. All of the tickets were snapped up within five minutes, the company said. The box office value of the tickets was more than NT$657 million (US$20.47 million). On Tuesday, an online tool that allowed people to practice buying tickets was accessed millions of times. A Threads account on Monday shared the tool, which recreated the tixCraft Web site, including options to choose the day, seat, number of tickets and verification method — promising people who wanted tickets a way to practice quickly placing their order once the actual sales went live. As of 9:40am yesterday, the practice site had crashed several times while logging 20 million visits.
SOCIETY
Tax refunds due next week
The second batch of income tax refunds are due to be credited on Thursday next week, totaling nearly NT$1.61 billion. There are 94,104 tax refunds in the second batch totaling about NT$1.61 billion, Ministry of Finance data showed. The refunds would be transferred to the bank accounts specified when filing. For those who did not designate where to deposit the funds, the National Taxation Bureau would issue refund vouchers, which can be redeemed at a designated financial institution until Dec. 31, the ministry said. It warned people to be wary of scam calls and other forms of fraud. The ministry said it would not notify people to redeem refunds at ATMs. The tax settlement process ended on May 31, with the three batches of refunds scheduled for July 31, Thursday next week and Jan. 20 next year. This round of refunds is mostly for taxpayers who used a barcode or filed manually, such as those who wrote in their declarations. There are also 1,666 cases of taxpayers needing to make additional payments, totaling NT$409.7 million.
‘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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
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