WEATHER
Cooler temperatures coming
Beginning today, temperatures in northern Taiwan could drop to 21°C because of stronger northeast winds, the Central Weather Bureau said on Sunday. Bureau forecaster Chiang Li-hung (姜禮鴻) said lows in northern and central areas could hit 21°C or 22°C, and 24°C or 25°C in the south. Starting tomorrow, highs will drop to 29°C in the north, while highs in central and southern regions will be 31°C or 32°C, he said. The bureau’s forecast showed relatively cooler weather would continue from tomorrow through Saturday. Chiang said chances of showers are still high in the northern and northeastern regions.
DESIGN
Taiwanese nabs gold at IDEA
Industrial designer Hsieh Jung-ya (謝榮雅) won a gold medal at this year’s International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday for packaging he designed for a limited edition of the Tatung electric cooker. The packaging for the cooker’s 50th anniversary is made of gold-colored ecofriendly pulp, based on the concept of a golden anniversary for marriage, according to the GIXIA Group headed by Hsieh. It was the second IDEA gold medal Hsieh has won. His previous medal was in 2006 in the environment category for a fence. Organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America, IDEA is among the world’s four major design awards, along with iF and Red Dot of Germany and Japan’s G-Mark.
HEALTH
Taiwanese don’t exercise
Taiwanese exercise the least of anybody in the world, contributing to non--communicable diseases (NCD) in the country, Department of Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) said in a speech at an APEC meeting in San Francisco on Saturday. Speaking at the Health System Innovation Policy Dialogue, Chiu said the lack of exercise was one of the four major reasons for NCDs and the most serious factor in Taiwan. Based on a standard of exercising at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes at a time, Chiu said Taiwanese exercised less than people in most other countries. Chiu said the situation needed to be improved to lower Taiwan’s cancer rates — one of the four major NCDs along with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease — by 10 percent. Chiu also shared Taiwan’s experiences in cancer prevention and treatment. He said more widespread breast cancer screenings, pap smears and oral cancer screenings had helped to lower their incidence rates. Taiwan was also the first country to prevent incidences of hepatitis B and liver cancer through vaccinations, he said.
SOCIETY
Centenarians to get gold
The Ministry of the Interior has decided to give each centenarian in the country a gold plaque as a commemorative gift. The ministry said there were 1,509 centenarians in Taiwan as of Wednesday, up from 1,399 the previous year. Taipei had the most, at 297, followed by New Taipei City (新北市) at 229 and Greater Taichung with 114. Taoyuan County, Greater Tainan and Greater Kao-hsiung also had more than 100 centenarians. Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said centenarians were “treasures of the country,” because they had witnessed the Republic of China’s birth, growth and democratization. Jiang said the ministry would give the plaques, each weighing about 10.2g, to individuals 100 or older for the Double Ninth Festival — the traditional senior citizens’ day on the lunar calendar — as a gift symbolizing longevity and good fortune.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it