WEATHER
WMO retires ‘Morakot’
The name “Morakot” has been retired by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a Pacific typhoon name because of the extensive damage and casualties it caused in 2009, particularly when it struck Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. The name has been replaced on the list of acceptable names by “Atsani,” which means “lightning” in Thai, the bureau said. Typhoon names are generally retired for one of two reasons — either because they were particularly damaging or particular deadly. The bureau said the decision was made in January by the WMO’s committees for the Western North Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center, located in Japan, did not make an official announcement of the change until recently. The deadliest typhoon to affect Taiwan in a century, Morakot killed more than 600 people and caused more than NT$19.5 billion (US$682.13 million) in damage.
EDUCATION
Tuition to remain the same
The Ministry of Education said on Tuesday that 72 universities would not raise tuition or miscellaneous fees during the next academic year, silencing skepticism that the fees would increase. Thirty-five public universities, including National Taiwan University, as well as 37 private universities will have a “zero percent” tuition increase, the ministry said. According to 2003 to 2004 statistics released by the ministry, tuition and fees at local universities are not only far lower than those of the US and Japan, but are also the lowest among the four Asian tigers — Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.
SOCIETY
Photographer wins in UAE
Fan Hui-ling (范慧玲), a Taiwanese photographer, has emerged as the top winner of an international photography contest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), capturing the award for best photographer, as well as two silver medals. Fan, who has pursued a career in photography for more than five years, won 30,000 dirham (US$8,165) in prize money in this year’s International Emirates Photography Competition, the Government Information Office (GIO) said. Two of her works also won nominations in a competition sponsored by the International Federation of Photographic Art and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, GIO officials said. The competition drew entries from 139 countries on a theme of “Black and White through creative eyes,” the officials said.
POLITICS
Vote buyer gets jail time
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Wu Kuang-hsun (吳光訓) was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison by the Taiwan High Court’s Greater Kaohsiung branch yesterday for vote-buying, a violation of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法). Wu may appeal the case to the Supreme Court. In 2004, Wu represented the KMT in an election bid for a legislative seat in then-Kaohsiung County. The ruling said Wu handed more than NT$2 million (US$70,000) to two members of his campaign staff and directed them to buy votes in then-Cishan (旗山) and Neimen (內門) townships. The duo gave NT$500 bribes to 4,000 people to vote for Wu, the ruling said. The ruling said investigators learned of Wu’s vote-buying by monitoring his telephone calls after they received a tip that Wu was buying votes in his campaign. The ruling said the two campaign staffers had also been found guilty.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
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