SOCIETY
Wang Tso-yung dies
Former Control Yuan president Wang Tso-yung (王作榮) died from pneumonia on Tuesday at the age of 95, his family said. Wang, who headed the government watchdog from 1996 to 1999 under then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), felt unwell on Sunday and was admitted to Taipei Veterans General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia, according to People First Party Legislator Thomas Lee (李桐豪), who was one of Wang’s students. Wang’s condition deteriorated on Monday, leading to septicemia and shock, which caused his death on Tuesday morning, the lawmaker said. Wang’s last public appearance was on June 17, when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) honored him with an Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon for his contribution to the country. He received the honor while sitting in a wheelchair and had to thank Ma through his son, Wang Nien-tsu (王念祖), who said the award gave his father the greatest pleasure.
WEATHER
Tropical storm brings rain
A tropical storm that formed in the South China Sea yesterday may not affect the nation directly, but it could trigger heavy showers in eastern and southern parts of the nation, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. As of 2pm, Tropical Storm Jebi was centered 980km southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), moving northwest at 9kph, the bureau said. The storm was packing sustained winds of 65kph, gusting to 90kph. The storm is expected to remain far from Taiwan over the next few days, forecasters said. Ships operating in waters south of Taiwan have been warned to be on the alert for high waves. Jebi, which means “swallow” in Korean, is the ninth storm of this year’s Pacific typhoon season.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
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