WEATHER
Temperatures to drop
A cold air mass is forecast to bring rain to parts of northern and eastern Taiwan starting tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Lows last night to early this morning were expected to be 14°C to 15°C in northern Taiwan and 15°C to 17°C in central and southern Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said. Daytime highs today would be 17°C to 18°C in the north and 20°C to 25°C in central and southern Taiwan, Tseng said. The effects of the cold air mass would continue until Tuesday, when sunny to cloudy skies and highs of more than 20°C would return across the nation, he said. Lows from tonight to Tuesday would be 13°C to 14°C, with Monday and early Tuesday morning expected to be the coldest, he said. Daytime highs would be 14°C to 16°C in northern Taiwan and 18°C to 19°C in eastern Taiwan. Central and southern regions would still experience daytime temperatures of more than 20°C, the CWA said.
Photo: CNA
EPIDEMIOLOGY
People urged to get jab
More than 40 percent of 100,000 government-funded flu vaccine doses were administered on the first day of distribution, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Amid high demand, the CDC urged eligible people, particularly those in high-risk groups, to get vaccinated promptly, as the flu season is expected to continue until the end of next month, despite a decline in cases last week. Those advised to receive the vaccine include people aged 65 or older, infants older than six months, preschool children and people with chronic conditions, the CDC said. The CDC rolled out the additional doses on Thursday after the flu-related death of actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), 48, on Feb. 2, which fueled a surge in vaccination rates. At its peak, more than 70,000 government-funded flu shots were administered in a single day, CDC data showed. Since the flu season began on Oct. 1 last year, 917 severe cases had been reported as of Monday, with people aged 65 or older accounting for 56 percent. The death toll was 181, the data showed.
DIPLOMACY
Czechia liberalizes permits
Taiwanese would be allowed to work in the Czech Republic without a work permit or employment card beginning early next month, Czech Minister of the Environment Petr Hladik said on Wednesday. Taiwan would join Prague’s list of non-EU states whose citizens can freely enter the Czech Republic’s labor market, Hladik said, although he did not specify an exact date. Taiwan had initially been set to join the list last year, but could only be added after Prague changed the law to recognize it as an “independent judicial jurisdiction.”
ZOOLOGY
Sound files released
The Hualien Formosa Association has uploaded 51 sound files of cetacean species from the waters off Hualien County onto an open-source research archive, association chairman Liao Hung-chi (廖鴻基) said on Sunday, which was International World Whale Day. The association has 107 sound files recorded during voyages that totaled more than two years at sea, Liao said. Fifty-one of the 107 audio files have been uploaded to Figshare, an open-access archive, the association said. All of the files on the archive include analyses and the date they were recorded for international researchers to use or cite, it added.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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