WEATHER
Cimaron sea warning lifted
The Central Weather Bureau lifted a sea warning for Tropical Storm Cimaron at about noon yesterday, but warned that heavy rain is still likely across the nation. As of 11am yesterday, the storm was centered about 260km west of Oluanpi on the southernmost tip of Taiwan, moving northwest at 19kph, the weather bureau said. It was packing sustained winds of 65kph, with gusts of up to 90kph. Taitung and Pingtung counties could see accumulated rainfall of up to 200mm in the 24 hours to noon today, while eastern Taiwan and areas south of Chiayi County might experience downpours as well, forecasters said. However, Cimaron is unlikely to further threaten ships operating in the Bashi Channel and the Taiwan Strait, the bureau said.
DIPLOMACY
Ma to stop over in New York
The US government has approved a request by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to stop over in New York during an upcoming journey to Latin America and the Caribbean, where he will visit four of the nation’s allies, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US said on Wednesday. While in New York, Ma will maintain a low profile as he usually does during transit stops in the US, Taiwan’s Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said. King said Ma’s low-key, pragmatic approach to diplomacy has received recognition from the US, which believes the approach is helpful in building mutual trust. On such a basis of mutual trust, the US government is expected to provide Ma with due courtesy while he is in New York, King said. Ma is scheduled to attend the Aug. 15 inauguration of Paraguayan president-elect Horacio Cartes. He is also scheduled to visit St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
AGRICULTURE
Yunlin to hold eco-show
The Yunlin County Government is planning to hold an agricultural exposition between Dec. 25 and March 6 next year to highlight the idea of being friendly to the land and the environment. The main exhibition venue in Huwei Township (虎尾) will be divided into six parts: an area for carbon sequestration; a happy farm area; a display hall for various products; a food exhibition hall; a fashion show area and a creative zone. Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) said that the county government is aiming to promote the idea of post-modern agriculture and further visitors’ understanding of what it means to be eco-friendly. Various rejuvenation and community renewal projects will also be carried out in 20 townships in the county in a bid to showcase each community’s unique characteristics and landscape, as well as build their agricultural brands, Su said.
CULTURE
Taipei jazz fest opens
One of the highlights of the three-day Taipei Jazz Festival, which opens today, will be performances by a group of renowned musicians from Israel, including veteran pianist Avi Adrian and bassist Arnon Palty, said the Taipei International Jazz Education and Promotion Association, which organized the event. The Israelis will give two seminars on Middle Eastern and Jewish music today at the Taipei Artist Village, the association said. The festival, which includes concerts tomorrow and on Sunday at Daan Forest Park, will feature 12 musicians from Belgium, Germany, Italy, South Africa and the US and three Taiwanese musicians, including singer-songwriter and Golden Melody Award winner Hsieh Yu-wei (謝宇威), the association said. Hsieh will give take part in a seminar at the Taipei Artist Village at 2pm tomorrow.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
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
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard