WEATHER
Taitung records 38.3oC high
Temperatures in Taitung County’s Dawu Township (大武) soared to 38.3oC yesterday, the highest recorded anywhere in the country so far this year, the Central Weather Bureau said. The high was recorded at 11:41am due to a Foehn wind, the bureau said. Foehn winds are warm and dry gusts that descend the sheltered side of mountains into valleys. The bureau also said the country would continue to experience downpours from southwesterly winds created by Typhoon Neoguri, which passed over waters east of Taiwan. Although the typhoon has moved away from Taiwan, chances are high that coastal areas will experience strong gusts of up to 89kph, the bureau said, and it warned against engaging in water activities in those regions. Temperatures will remain high around the country, with daytime highs of 31oC in the north, 33oC in southern Taiwan and 36oC in southeastern areas.
TRAVEL
CDC issues Egypt warning
People planning to travel to Egypt should take precautions against mosquitoes, as malaria has resurfaced there after having not been a risk for 16 years, the Centers for Disease Control said yesterday. Aswan, a popular tourist destination in southern Egypt, has reported 21 cases of malaria since late May, an indication of the increasing threat of the potentially fatal disease, the centers said. Because malaria is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, travelers are advised to wear light-colored outfits that fully cover their bodies to avoid contact with the insects, the centers said. The centers warned visitors to Southeast Asia, Oceania, Central and South America and other parts of Africa to take similar precautions, as malaria can be found in all of those regions. Symptoms include fever, headaches and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the patient has been infected. Without prompt treatment, malaria can become life-threatening.
DIPLOMACY
New AIT head starts work
The new deputy head of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Kaohsiung Branch Office has assumed duties, the AIT said yesterday in a statement. Jason Chue officially took up his new post on July 1, said the AIT, which represents US interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties. He is also serving as the economic and consular chief at the Greater Kaohsiung office. Chue previously worked in the Office of UN Political Affairs, part of the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, the AIT said. He has also served in US embassies in Cyprus and Venezuela.
TOURISM
Skyscrapers plan exhibit
Tokyo Skytree is to hold a photo exhibit featuring the Taipei 101 skyscraper next month as part of the two towers’ latest joint campaign to boost tourism. The Aug. 1 to Aug. 14 exhibition will display selected pictures featuring Taipei 101 to visitors at Tokyo Skytree, said the 101 Taipei Financial Center Corp, which runs Taiwan’s tallest building. Tokyo Skytree president Masaaki Ito said he hopes the project can build on previous successes in similar tourism programs. Last year, the two towers partnered to offer commemorative tickets and stamps that feature both skyscrapers and worked together on souvenir sales, Ito said. Completed in 2012, Tokyo Skytree stands at 634m, making it second in height only to the Burj Khalifa (829.8m) in Dubai. Taipei 101 was completed in 2004. At 508m, the tip of its antenna was the highest in the world until it was displaced by the Burj Khalifa in 2009.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods