Although the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday that the spate of rainy days might end tomorrow, government agencies involved in disaster prevention lunched preparations for the arrival of the rainy season in a bid to protect residents from floods and landslides. The preparations come as Typhoon Sonca loomed off of Taiwan's southern tip.
At 5pm yesterday, the bureau lift heavy rain warnings it had issued earlier. Forecasters said that between 12am and 5pm yesterday, central Taiwan had accumulated abundant rainfall. The highest amount was measured in Kuohsing Township, Nantou County, which received 118mm of rain. However, abundant rainfall was also measured in many other counties, including Pingtung, Chiayi, and Hualien.
Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華), a forecaster at the bureau, said yesterday that the strength of the front would decrease today. However, afternoon rain showers might be seen in the following days.
"Beginning Thursday, the temperature will increase. The highest record for the day at many places around the island might exceed 30?C," Wu said.
Wu said that Typhoon Sonca, the third of this year, was increasing but it would not affect the weather of Taiwan. According to the bureau, Sonca's eye yesterday was about 1,400km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation's southern tip, and would move away from the nation.
Wu Huei-long (吳輝龍), director general of the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau under the Council of Agriculture, said yesterday that the first drill aimed at minimizing the effects of mudslides would take place tomorrow in Miaoli County.
"It's a good chance for the government to get familiar with dealing with catastrophes triggered by heavy rains," Wu Huei-long said.
He also said that the collaborative drill will be conducted jointly by the public and private sectors in order to maximize disaster prevention. Premier Frank Hsieh (
The drill will involve a mock situation where people are trapped or injured as a result of landslides. Police, firefighters and rescue workers from other agencies will practice rescuing people in these situations.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) mention of Taiwan’s official name during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Wednesday was likely a deliberate political play, academics said. “As I see it, it was intentional,” National Chengchi University Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies professor Wang Hsin-hsien (王信賢) said of Ma’s initial use of the “Republic of China” (ROC) to refer to the wider concept of “the Chinese nation.” Ma quickly corrected himself, and his office later described his use of the two similar-sounding yet politically distinct terms as “purely a gaffe.” Given Ma was reading from a script, the supposed slipup
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
The bodies of two individuals were recovered and three additional bodies were discovered on the Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑) in Taroko National Park, eight days after the devastating earthquake in Hualien County, search-and-rescue personnel said. The rescuers reported that they retrieved the bodies of a man and a girl, suspected to be the father and daughter from the Yu (游) family, 500m from the entrance of the trail on Wednesday. The rescue team added that despite the discovery of the two bodies on Friday last week, they had been unable to retrieve them until Wednesday due to the heavy equipment needed to lift