■Travel
More tourists head to Macau
With the danger of SARS diminishing, the number of Taiwanese visitors to Macau has been increasing since early June, according to statistics released yesterday by the Macao authorities. The statistics show that the daily number of Taiwanese travelers to Macau, excluding those who only made a stopover in Macau en route to China, averaged 55 between June 9 and June 20, an increase of 275 percent over the average for the period between April 30 and June 9, at the height of SARS outbreak Macau authorities said they believe the number of Taiwanese travelers to Macau will increase more quickly in July and August. A total of 1.27 million Taiwan visitors came to Macau last year, averaging 3,480 per day.
■ Typhoons
Forecasters get new gear
Meteorology experts are expected to begin monitoring typhoons this summer with new cutting-edge technology and equipment obtained from the US. Under a typhoon research program financed by the National Science Council, meteorologists are expected to be able to fly aboard a specially designed aircraft near approaching typhoons, where they will shoot an "atmospheric sonde," or "radiosonde" observation gear, into the eye of the typhoon to collect data that will give the scientists vital information about the typhoon, said Wu Chun-chieh (吳俊傑) of National Taiwan University, which is managing the program. The NSC program sent four experts to a hurricane research center under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the US at the end of last year for a two-month training session, according to Wu. The program, targeting at understanding the dynamic theory of typhoons, will help improve the accuracy of typhoon and rainfall forecasts and will raise Taiwan's prestige in typhoon research, Wu added.
■ Railways
Electrification project ends
The electrification project for the North-Link Railway between Ilan and Hualien in eastern Taiwan will be completed on Wednesday, an official of the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said yesterday. He said that, after the project is completed, the transportation capacity of the 88km railway will increase by more than 30 percent and the time to travel between Taipei and Hualien by express train will be reduced from three hours to two and a half hours. The electrification project is part of TRA's plan to improve the eastern line. The plan will be completed by the end of next year, he added.
■ Security
Restricted airspace violated
A civilian helicopter flew through restricted airspace near the Presidential Office in the second such incident in four days, officials said yesterday. The Bell helicopter flew through the airspace of the Presidential Office at 4:56pm on Saturday after it took off from Sungshan Airport en route to the southern city of Kaohsiung, television news reports said. The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) confirmed the report. "The CAA held two meetings today to investigate the event," a CAA official said, without providing details. A Presidential Office spokesman said: "The Presidential Office took the two events very seriously and asked government agencies to beef up security while looking into the two events." The CAA on Thursday suspended an airport controller after a domestic passenger aircraft flew close to the restricted airspace near the Presidential Office.
Agencies
■Entertainment
TTV selects new anchor
TTV has chosen Berkeley, California native Josi Chow (周季薇) to be its new English-language anchor. The 26-year old Chow will host the Taiwan Outlook English news program weekday mornings from 6am to 6:30am. Chow has a bachelor's degree in economics according to a press release from the station. The release also said that Chow did not study journalism but has been "studying all kinds of English newspapers ... and is working hard to become a professional." According to the press release, Chow said "I'm so nervous and excited."
■ Politics
Hualien race off to start
The KMT will finalize its recommended candidate for the upcoming Hualien County commissioner by-election this week, party officials said yesterday. The issue will be discussed at the Central Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday, KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) said. Officials from both the KMT and the PFP have said the two parties will field a joint ticket. The KMT is seeking former Cabinet secretary-general Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山) to run, but a number of other hopefuls are also jockeying for candidacy, including former Hualien County commissioner Wu Kuo-tung (吳國棟) and Liu Chao-eh (劉詔娥), widow of the late commissioner Chang Fu-hsing (張福興). On the PFP's side, Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) has also vowed to run.
■ Environment
Heat wave on the way
Taiwan will have hot weather throughout the week, with temperatures rising as high as 34℃, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
Staff writer
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
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