■ Weather
Cold front set to arrive
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday said that because of the arrival of a cold front, the temperature along the northern coastal area will drop as low as 11oC today and tomorrow. The bureau also predicted that the temperature will reach 12oC in central Taiwan and 14oC in the south. The temperature at Hohuan Mountain (合歡山) will drop below zero but there is little chance of snow as the cold front does not contain too much moisture, the CWB said. The weather is expected to get warmer starting Friday before another cold front arrives on Sunday. Northern, northeastern and eastern Taiwan will experience rain over the weekend, the CWB also warned.
■ Health
Tainan honors `blood king'
A blood donor in Tainan City was awarded with the title of "honorary citizen" of the southern city yesterday after he donated blood for the 1,001st time. Chang Kuo-sen (張國森), 51, is the first blood donor in Taiwan to have made more than 1,000 blood donations. Chang's three brothers are also frequent donors who have made over 100 donations each, while his three children also donate blood regularly. During the last 30 years, the most unforgettable moment for Chang was when his wife was giving birth to their first child and encountered difficulties that called for a Caesarean section and a blood transfusion. The experience strengthened Chang's belief in the importance of donating blood to help others.
■ Politics
Eight enter KMT youth race
With the newly formed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth Corps finishing its leadership election registration process yesterday, KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he expected the corps to serve the country, while denying it was just another "Ma clique." Upon the conclusion of the registration process, a total of eight candidates had registered to run for the position of corps leader, including KMT Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓), Legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世) and Chiang Yi-chen (江怡瑧), who at 24, is the youngest and the only female candidate. Former KMT chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) son, Lien Sheng-wen (連勝文), and KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚), the son of KMT Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), both seen as potential leadership hopefuls, declined to enter the race in the wake of recent criticism that the corps would be a "clique of princes." The election result will be announced on March 29.
■ Travel
Cattle prod reminder issued
Taiwanese tourists will not be allowed to carry electric prods with them when visiting Hong Kong and Macau or making transit stops in either place, Mainland Affairs Council officials said yesterday. "Not only will their self-defense devices be confiscated by customs, they would also face charges for carrying illegal weapons," said Tsai Chih-chung (蔡之中), director of the council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. Tsai said Hong Kong and Macau have banned unlicenced use of electric prods, which are considered a weapon. Since July 2004, 11 Taiwanese have been arrested and charged for bringing electric prods to Hong Kong and Macau during their visits or even transit stops, Tsai said, adding that no such devices can be placed inside either hand-carried or other baggage. Electric prods are legal in Taiwan and popular among women as self-defense devices.
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,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods