WEATHER
Heavy rain forecast
Two fronts are forecast to sweep across the nation this week, bringing scattered showers and potentially heavy rainfall, particularly in northern and central Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Tuesday. The first front, forecast to approach last night, would bring short bursts of thunderstorms and a chance of localized heavy rain, especially in central and northern Taiwan, the CWA said. The rain might ease tomorrow before another front introduces more widespread rainfall on Saturday, it said.
SOCIETY
Island to get traffic light
Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球), a popular vacation destination off Pingtung County, would get its first traffic light in August, the county government said on Tuesday. The traffic light is to be installed at the intersection of Fusing and Siangpu roads near Cyuande Elementary School in accordance with a National Bureau of Land Management plan to improve road safety around schools, said Chen Pin-chen (陳品蓁), an official in the traffic division of the county’s police bureau. Views about the traffic light were mixed on the island. In a Facebook group titled “Siaoliuciou Alliance,” some welcomed the addition, saying it would make the area safer for people and animals. However, another post said one traffic light would eventually lead to more, and would eventually “urbanize” the island and destroy its rustic charm.
DIPLOMACY
Romanian project starts
A government-funded project to support start-ups in Romania was officially launched on Tuesday in Bucharest, with a top envoy saying he hoped it would promote closer cooperation between the two nations. Representative to Slovakia Lee Nan-yang (李南陽) attended the ceremony to mark the launch of the Star Venture Program in the Romanian capital, Taiwan’s office in Slovakia, which also covers Romania, said in a statement. The program in Romania is being run by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a 500,000 euro (US$552,135) donation from the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, the office said. On Tuesday, 10 start-ups in electric vehicle rentals, robot learning, energy and education were shortlisted to pitch their business ideas at an in-person event in Bucharest. The EBRD is expected to announce the finalists in two to three weeks. They would be selected to join the intensive 18-month program, which includes a range of support to help them succeed in the competitive global market, including help from Garage+ accelerator programs in Taiwan, Lee said.
CRIME
Stolen tortoises recovered
Police in Pingtung County have recovered eight of 30 stolen African spurred tortoises and continue to search for the remaining 22, a police officer said on Tuesday. Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of theft after police received a report on Saturday last week that 30 of the tortoises raised in a breeding facility in Changjhih Township (長治) had been stolen, with each animal weighing 20kg to 30kg, said Chang Ching-hsiung (張清雄), head of a local police station. Police tracked down eight suspects and questioned them on Monday. Eight of the 30 tortoises were subsequently found at the home of one of the suspects, a 20-year-old man surnamed Liu (劉), Chang said. The case has been referred to the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation, he added.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
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