■ DIPLOMACY
New diplomats announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs last night announced four new ambassadorial appointments for positions in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. Current ambassador to South African Richard Shih (石瑞琦) will now head the embassy in Gambia. Chen Chung (陳忠), the current representative to New Zealand, will be the new ambassador to Sao Tome and Principe. Leo Lee (李澄然) is expected to leave his post as the head of the ministry's Department of North American Affairs to become ambassador to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The new ambassador to Haiti will be Hsu Mien-sheng (徐勉生), who has held diplomatic posts in France, Senegal, and Angola. A ministry official said the four men were career diplomats who were ideal candidates to safeguard Taiwan's existing allies in the face of relentless pressure from China.
■ TRANSPORTATION
High-speed rail serves 20m
The accumulated passenger volume of the high-speed railway system reached the 20-million mark on Friday, a little more than one year after the service was launched, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said yesterday. The system's passenger volume totaled 2,095,210 last month, setting a record single-month high, the company said in a statement. The company said passenger traffic has been increasing since trial operations began on Jan. 5 last year, topping the 5 million mark on May 28, the 10 million mark on Sept. 18 and the 15 million mark on Dec. 21. Carbon dioxide released by a high-speed train averages only 0.0267kg per passenger-kilometer, about one-quarter of the average 0.1kg released per passenger-kilometer by a small passenger car, it said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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