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 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
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
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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