WEATHER
Banyan unlikely to hit
Tropical Storm Banyan, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression, is likely to regain strength and develop into a tropical storm again, but the chances of it hitting Taiwan are small, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Banyan, which formed southeast of Taiwan on Tuesday, was downgraded to a tropical depression after it made landfall in the Philippines on Thursday. However, it has been picking up moisture as it moves across the South China Sea and has the potential to develop into a storm, the bureau said. As of 8am yesterday, the depression was located 700 km southwest of Taiwan’s southernmost tip of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), moving in a north-northwesterly direction at 20kph, the bureau said. Although it is unlikely to pose a direct threat to Taiwan, the bureau cautioned there could be sudden downpours nationwide over the weekend. It also warned that residents in eastern Taiwan should be on high alert because the area was still recovering from heavy precipitation brought by Tropical Storm Nalgae.
IMMIGRATION
NIA told to toughen stance
The Ministry of the Interior instructed the National Immigration Agency (NIA) on Thursday to step up a crackdown on runaway or illegal foreign workers. According to the latest statistics released by the agency, a total of 31,912 foreign workers have absconded from their jobs and only 2,179 have been detained. Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) warned employers not to hire illegal foreign workers or those on the run. Employers who do so could face a fine of between NT$150,000 and NT$750,000. Foreign workers who have been listed as missing persons would face deportation if caught, he said. The ministry has asked local governments to enhance inspections of workplaces such as public construction sites and entertainment venues frequented by foreign workers, he added.
CRIME
NTNU steps up security
National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) yesterday said it would step up security measures after at least four female students reported being groped at night over the past two months. The university said the measures would include giving female students a whistle to draw attention and increasing the number of light fixtures and closed-circuit televisions. NTNU secretary-general Lin An-bang (林安邦) said the school has also told each department to remind female students to travel in groups when going out at night and to make sure that doors are closed when they are in individual study rooms or classrooms. According to the school, the suspect is a man in his 30s, adding that near-by Shihda Night Market has also reported similar incidents.
CULTURE
Annual jazz festival begins
Greater Taichung’s annual jazz festival opens today, which Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said has become a major music festival in Asia. The festival will run till Oct. 23. The line-up includes the Charles Tolliver Band and the Sirius Quartet, as well as Scene of Jazz from Japan, Koh Mr Saxman from Thailand and outfits from Malaysia, South Korea, Shanghai and Hong Kong. According to Hu, in the early years of the festival, a lack of funding and performers meant that the city had to call agents in Thailand, Japan and South Korea to find bands willing to travel to Taichung to perform. In the ensuing years, however, the festival has gained in popularity through word of mouth, Hu said, adding that he expects it to attract up to 800,000 people this year, up from last year’s 750,000. He also expressed hope that the festival, now in its ninth year, will attract 1 million people next year.
SOCIETY
S.H.E. fan bids on invite
The fiance of Taiwanese singer Selina Jen (任家萱), a member of the pop band S.H.E., personally handed the final bidder a wedding invitation earlier this week, which helped raise NT$222,300 for a local burns charity. The 29-year-old bidder, who gave her name only as “Vivi,” said she was very happy and excited to find out she had won the bid. Selina’s life has been in the spotlight since she sustained severe burns during a TV shoot in Shanghai a year ago. The entertainer has undergone three skin grafts. The wedding invitation was among a variety of items provided by a total of 22 celebrities as part of an online fundraising auction held by the Taipei-based Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation. Total sales reached over NT$400,000.
ENVIRONMENT
EPA targets carbon dioxide
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is considering listing carbon dioxide as an air pollutant if the legislature does not pass a key environmental law in its current session, according to Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏). Shen said his agency would propose an amendment to the Air Pollution Prevention Act (空氣污染防制法) to classify carbon dioxide as an air pollutant as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the country. Since 2006, the agency has been pushing for passage of the greenhouse gas reduction act, but the bill has been stalled in the legislature because of concerns over its impact on industry. Shen said the EPA plans to begin to regulate carbon emissions soon, starting with factories, automobile manufacturers and importers. He said people should be aware that the cost of electricity will rise once the carbon reduction policies take effect. Once electricity consumption drops, the price of electricity will naturally fall again, he said
DIPLOMACY
First lady visits NYC library
First lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) visited a library in Forest Hills area of Queens, New York City, on Thursday and presented the library with children’s books from Taiwan in the hope that more young Americans can learn about Chinese culture. Chow arrived in New York for a five-day visit on Wednesday to attend the US premiere of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s Water Stains on the Wall, which had its world premier in Taipei last November. Chow was scheduled yesterday to attend the inauguration of a Taiwan Academy, a facility initiated by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to present Chinese language and culture based on traditional Chinese characters.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner