POLITICS
DPP mulls new candidate
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will nominate a new candidate to replace former legislator Chien Chao-tung (簡肇棟) in January’s legislative elections, DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said yesterday. Chien resigned from his post on Tuesday after his involvement in a hit-and-run accident which killed a man. Chien has recommended that former DPP legislator Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), who is a professor at Asia University in Greater Taichung, run in Greater Taichung’s seventh district of Dali (大里) and Taiping (太平). Chiu expressed interest yesterday, saying that he would be available if the DPP wanted him to run. Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純), a Greater Taichung councilor, and former DPP legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) were also mentioned as possible candidates. The decision on who will replace Chien will be made later this week, Su said.
SCIENCE
Vehicle heads to Australia
A solar vehicle developed by National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences has been shipped to Australia to take part in the World Solar Challenge to be held on Oct. 16. The university said 20 team members of the solar car project titled “Apollo VI” would travel to Australia to compete in the 3,021km race with about 50 teams from 21 countries, including China, South Korea, Australia, the US, Japan, Canada and Germany. The solar vehicle is scheduled to arrive in Australia on Oct. 4. The vehicle is 4.3m long, 1.8m wide and 1.1m high, and it weighs about 130kg without taking into account the weight of the driver and the battery, said professor Ay Her-chang (艾和昌), the leader of the team. It uses silicon solar cells to comply with the race’s new regulations, Ay said. Although the silicon solar cells cost more than NT$1 million (US$33,700), the whole vehicle was built at a cost of just NT$5 million and it can reach a top speed of 120kph, he said.
WEATHER
Storm forms off Okinawa
Tropical Storm Roke formed in the Pacific yesterday, but whether it will hit Taiwan directly remains to be seen, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the center of Roke was 930km off the east coast of Okinawa. It was moving northwesterly at a speed of 19kph. The radius of the storm was about 100km. The bureau forecast that Roke was likely to continue moving close to the coast of Okinawa in the next few days and it has the potential to evolve into a stronger storm. It also forecast that the storm’s circumfluence would affect Taiwan on Saturday. The bureau also said there was another tropical depression near the east coast of Guam. The center of the tropical depression appeared to be stagnant, it said. The chances of showers are high in northeastern, eastern and southeastern parts of the nation, the bureau said.
POLITICS
Housing to be prioritized
Lawmakers are expected to put bipartisan amendments related to housing policy on the priority list of the legislature’s new session, which is scheduled to open tomorrow. The main bill to be reviewed during the session, which recesses on Dec. 14, will be the central government’s budget, but both parties hope they can also address housing bills that would require greater transparency in the real estate market. Legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party are expected to meet today to work out a prioritized list of bills to be considered during the three-month session.
Staff writer, with CNA
SCIENCE
Taiwan wins Olympiad
Taiwan and South Korea tied for first place at the fifth International Earth Science Olympiad, with Taiwanese secondary-school students taking home three golds and one silver in the competition in Italy, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The four students from Taiwan were joined by 100 students from 26 countries at the competition, the ministry said. Taiwan has performed well since first taking part in the Olympiad in 2007 and has ranked at the top for the fifth consecutive year with a total of 15 golds and five silvers. To reward the students for their excellent performance, they will get recommendations for admission to college. Each gold medal winner will also receive NT$200,000, while the silver medalist will take home NT$100,000, the ministry said.
ENERGY
No France-like risk: AEC
The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday that a nuclear site explosion like the one in France on Monday could not possibly happen in Taiwan. The explosion at the Centraco nuclear site occurred in an oven used to melt radioactive waste, the council said, citing France’s Nuclear Safety Authority. One person was killed and four injured in the explosion. The council said there are no such ovens at local nuclear power plants, but there is a small one at a research institute. After a safety assessment, the council’s Institute of Nuclear Energy Research was issued an operating license for the oven for research purposes, but it has not been in use in recent years because there has been no need for it, the council said. It added that it would continue to monitor the French nuclear incident and use it as a reference for safety improvements.
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
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
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
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