WEATHER
Temperatures to rise
Temperatures across the nation could rise significantly over this week, starting today with daytime highs of 20°C to 26°C nationwide, the Central Weather Bureau said. From tomorrow to Wednesday, the mercury is expected to climb even higher, with daytime temperatures set to hover between 22°C and 27°C nationwide, the bureau said yesterday. Meanwhile, sporadic showers can be expected in northern and northeastern areas today and the chances of rain are likely to increase until mid-week, as clouds heavy with moisture move in from the south, the bureau said. It said that a newly formed tropical storm in the Pacific is unlikely to affect the nation significantly. Tropical Storm Sonamu, the first storm of this year’s Pacific typhoon season, was centered 1,800km south-southwest of Taiwan’s southernmost tip as of 8am yesterday, bureau forecasters said.
SOCIETY
Book fair to be held on ship
The Germany-registered passenger ship Logos Hope is scheduled to hold a book fair at Keelung Port from tomorrow until Jan. 20, the organizers said yesterday. More than 5,000 books on science, sport, cuisine, art, philosophy and language will be on display the German charity Good Books for All (GBA) Ships said. There will also be a “life experience” section that will allow visitors to, for example, feel what it is like to be an AIDS patient, the organizers said. Logos Hope is the latest addition to GBA Ships and is twice the size of MV Doulos, a similar type of floating bookstore that has visited the nation several times. The ship is carrying about 400 volunteer crew members from 56 countries, working in positions such as engineers, accountants and chefs.They will engage in cultural exchanges with visitors, the organizers said.
TRANSPORT
Spanish firm wins rail bid
A company from Spain has won the opening bid to build a light rail system in Greater Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung City Government Secretary-General Wu Hung-mo (吳宏謀) said Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles won the bid with a project cost estimate of about NT$5.68 billion (US$195.86 million), lower than the NT$5.8 billion base price set by the government. The Spanish firm will construct the project jointly with the Taipei-based Evergreen Construction Corp, Wu said. The 8.7km light rail transport system is a major project that is expected to help promote economic development in the area near Kaohsiung Port, according to the city government. The transport system will connect many important facilities in the city.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Representative appointed
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷) has been appointed Taiwan’s representative to the EU and Belgium, the Presidential Office announced on Friday. Tung, 60, will take up the post that was made vacant when his predecessor, David Lin (林永樂), was appointed foreign minister late last year. Once he formally assumes office, Tung is expected to push for a working holiday agreement with Belgium and an economic cooperation agreement with the EU. Well-versed in European and North American affairs, Tung has been posted in Houston and New York before taking over as deputy representative to the US in April 2008. Joseph Shih (石定), current deputy head of the ministry’s Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs, will succeed Tung as vice foreign minister.
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
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
RSS