JUDICIAL YUAN
Acting president named
Justice Shieh Ming-yan (謝銘洋) has been appointed acting president of the Judicial Yuan amid bottlenecks in the legislature’s confirmation process of new justices, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said. President William Lai (賴清德) named Shieh, who has been a justice since 2019, the provisional head of the top judicial branch in accordance with the Judicial Yuan Organization Act (司法院組織法), Kuo said on Friday. Shieh’s appointment came a day after seven justices, including Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) and his deputy Tsai Jeong-duen (蔡炯墩) stepped down on Thursday after completing their eight-year terms. Kuo urged the legislature to begin the confirmation process of the seven justice candidates appointed by Lai on Aug. 30, saying their taking office would enable “the normal operations of the Judicial Yuan.” Lai selected National Taiwan University law professor Chang Wen-chen (張文貞) and former lawmaker Yao Li-ming (姚立明) to replace Hsu and Tsai respectively, along with five other justice candidates, but these nominations still await legislative approval. Shieh, 67, is one of the eight remaining justices at the Judicial Yuan whose primary responsibility is to preside over Constitutional Court cases.
PHILIPPINES
US$150,000 donated
Taiwan on Thursday donated US$150,000 to the Philippines to help those affected by Tropical Storm Trami. Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) announced the donation at a ceremony at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, where Philippine Representative to Taiwan Cheloy E. Velicaria-Garafil accepted the donation on behalf of the Philippine government. The move followed Taiwan’s donation of 500 tonnes of rice on Tuesday to the Philippines in the aftermath of the storm, which left at least 139 people dead and 21 unaccounted for, and caused economic damage of more than 4 billion pesos (US$68.53 million). Velicaria-Garafil thanked Taiwan for the donation and said that the help was was especially moving as it came about the same time as Typhoon Kong-rey swept across Taiwan. The Manila Economic and Cultural Office would transfer the donation to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for use as disaster relief, she said. Taiwan has promised to donate 2,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines by the end of the year and as of Tuesday, the Philippines has received 1,500 tonnes of rice. The remaining 500 tonnes are scheduled to arrive later this month.
ISF Gymnasiade
Record medals won
Taiwanese athletes completed their participation in the 2024 Gymnasiade in Bahrain on Thursday with a record 79 medals, including 35 golds. A total of 119 Taiwanese athletes competed in 19 different sports at the U18 games, with strong performances from the judo team, which won seven golds, one silvers and four bronzes. Wu Chun-you (吳俊佑), who competed in the para-athletics event, received a “sporting spirit award” from the International School Sport Federation (ISF), becoming the first Taiwanese athlete to win such honor. Sports Administration Director Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) said the event provided young Taiwanese athletes with invaluable experience in international sporting competitions. Prior to the event, Taiwan’s best performance at the Gymnasiade had been 68 medals, including 24 gold, Chinese Taipei School Sport Federation head Hu Chien-feng said.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
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