The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday issued a heavy torrential rain alert to residents in eastern and southeastern Taiwan as well as the Hengchun Peninsula as Tropical Storm Molave approached the southern part of the nation.
The bureau issued a sea alert for Molave on Thursday night.
As of 5:30pm yesterday, the center of the storm was 230km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻), moving northwesterly at 23kph.
CWB forecaster Hsieh Ming-chang (謝明昌) said the environment in the Bashi Channel had strengthened Molave.
The bureau forecast yesterday that the storm was likely to pass quickly through the Bashi Channel and move close to China’s Guangdong Province this afternoon. Based on the bureau’s projections, it appeared unlikely the storm would make landfall in Taiwan.
However, Hsieh said the path could shift northward and closer to the nation.
Hsieh said that the circumfluence of the storm had begun to threaten eastern and southern regions, adding that high waves had already been reported in Hengchun.
Accumulated rainfall in Hualien, Chengkung (成功) Taitung County and Pingtung had already topped 50mm.
The accumulated rainfall in the east, as well as in mountainous regions of the south, would likely exceed 200mm and could reach 300mm, the bureau said.
“The chances of intermittent heavy rainfall are also very high in the southern plains area,” Hsieh said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS