The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday pledged to enforce the Meteorology Law, in which media outlets can be fined up to NT$50,000 for releasing false or exaggerated reports about the weather.
"Although the penalty sounds light, the purpose of the law is to correct the media's reporting on the weather," Yeh Tien-chiang (葉天降), director of the CWB's weather forecasting center, said yesterday.
Typhoon Sinlaku swept over northern Taiwan last week without triggering any severe disasters as predicted by meteorologists.
In light of public complaints regarding the bureau's predictions about Typhoon Sinlaku's impact on Taiwan, the CWB held a press conference yesterday to emphasize its determination to enforce the Meteorology Law to restrain local news media from exaggerating weather information.
Under the law, news media are not only required to truthfully disseminate weather warnings issued by the CWB in a timely fashion, but they also have to make corrections in case of mistakes.
Moreover, the law also stipulates that those who release predictions or weather warnings without authorization can face fines of up to NT$50,000.
But Yeh confirmed yesterday that the bureau would not place any punishment on any media over their reports on Sinlaku, "because the news networks corrected the mistakes in their forecasts after receiving warnings from the bureau.
"But we will sternly implement the punishment stated in the law in the future," he said.
According to Yeh, the bureau issued warnings to some media outlets for exaggerated or incorrect predictions about Typhoon Sinlaku last week. But he refused to name the companies.
Meanwhile, the bureau also accounted for its own mistake in predicting the route of Sinlaku. Yeh conceded that there was an average of 91km difference between Sinlaku's possible routes forecasted by the CWB and the actual route.
In addition, winds were weaker than forecast. In the Taipei area, for example, Sinlaku generated winds of force-7 strength (13.9m to 17.1m per second) despite the weather bureau's prediction that force-8 winds could be expected (17.2m to 20.7m per second).
"The CWB's prediction is never totally accurate," said Yeh, stressing that the public has to acknowledge that technology limits prevent the bureau from making 100-percent accurate weather forecasts.
But Yeh also promised that the bureau would try to make further improvements by gathering more satellite and information from advanced nations, such as the US and Japan, to assist weather predictions in the future.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS