■ Society
Party traffic controls ready
Traffic controls will be in place around city hall as the Taipei City Government prepares for the upcoming New Year's Eve Party. Four lanes along Shifu Road (from Songgao Road to Songshou Road) will be closed for concert stage construction from today until 7pm tomorrow. Traffic controls between Shifu Road and New Renai Road will also be in place from 7pm tomorrow until 2am on Sunday. With an estimated 100,000 people expected to attend, Taipei City's police department said it may expand the traffic controls to include Guangfu S Road. The MRT system will operate around the clock on Dec. 31, with the exception of the Xiaobitan and New Beitou lines. Bus services around the Xinyi shopping district and city hall area will also run 24 hours on the day.
■ Diplomacy
Money well spent: MOFA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday defended its funding of the World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD), ROC Chapter, saying the league carries some weight and conducts vital international political lobbying on the nation's behalf. The WLFD has been lambasted by lawmakers for receiving too much funding, around NT$30 million annually from the foreign ministry, as opposed to the small amounts of between NT$30,000 and NT$50,000 other NGOs received last year. MOFA Spokesperson Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said yesterday the organization is one of the few UN-registered organizations which is eligible to participate in the UN's Department of Public Information annual meeting and carries much weight in political lobbying circles.
■ Legislation
Panel okays punishment ban
The first reading of the amendment to ban corporal punishment in schools was passed on Wednesday after a review session by the Education and Culture Committee at the Legislative Yuan. The article stipulates that students' rights must be respected and that students should not be subjected to physical or mental harm. The amendment is to be incorporated into the Basic Education Law (教育基本法), but has yet to undergo a second and third reading before officially becoming law.
■ Diplomacy
New Honduran leader to visit
Opposition leader Manuel Zelaya has been elected as the new president of Honduras, and he has expressed a keen interest in visiting Taiwan early next year, the ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. MOFA confirmed yesterday that Zelaya has emerged as the winner of the presidential election in Honduras. The election was held at the end of last month. Because of delays in counting the votes, the government of Honduras only sent a telegram to MOFA yesterday to confirm the election result.
■ Crime
Paperwork delays parole
The parole of former Yunlin county commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味) was delayed by paperwork yesterday. Chang's lawyers yesterday asked judges to release him on bail at a parole hearing in the Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court which stemmed from Chang's involvement in the Linnei Township (林內鄉) incinerator construction scandal. The request was denied. The judges said they had not yet received the Ministry of Justice's report on Chang's parole request, and that they would delay making a decision until these documents have been received.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS