WEATHER
No threat of storm: CWB
A tropical storm that formed over the Pacific late on Tuesday will not immediately threaten Taiwan, but it could turn into a typhoon as it moves closer to the nation, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, Chan-hom, the ninth storm of this year’s Pacific typhoon season, was centered about 4,140km east-southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost tip and moving at 18kph in a west-northwesterly direction. Chan-hom had sustained winds of 72kph and maximum sustained winds of 101kph, the bureau said. The storm is not likely to affect the nation’s weather in the coming days, as a high-pressure system continues to produce clear skies with high temperatures, forecasters said. However, the storm’s ultimate course remains unclear and might not be known until next week. Chan-hom is Laotian for a type of tree.
WEATHER
High UV levels persist: EPA
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday warned of high ultraviolet radiation amid clear skies, urging people to avoid outdoor activities until after 2pm. Hsinchu and Miaoli counties, where the UV index hit 13, were at the greatest risk yesterday, the agency said. The UV index in parts of Hualien and Taitung counties reached 12 in the morning, while most other areas of the nation recorded ultraviolet radiation levels of 11 at some point and ranged from 8 to 10 as of 11am, EPA data showed. The agency said readings of 8 or higher are considered “very high,” with anything above 11 seen as “dangerous.” A dangerous reading means a sunburn can occur after standing in sunlight for just 15 minutes.
POLITICS
Tsai tuning campaign music
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday invited Internet users to vote for songs to be included in DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidential campaign CD. DPP spokesperson Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄) said that netizens can select 20 songs from more than 100 submitted by professional and amateur musicians, alongside a panel of 14 judges — including experts in Mandarin, Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Hakka and Aboriginal music — set to choose 10 songs to be included on the CD. The final selections are to be broadcast live online on Thursday next week. Ballots can be cast online at melody.iing.tw/songs.
TRANSPORTATION
Tigerair to add Macau flights
Tigerair Taiwan, a joint venture between China Airlines and Singapore’s Tiger Airways, yesterday said it would increase the number of flights on its Taoyuan-Macau route beginning on Aug. 1. The budget airline said it would add an extra flight per day to its Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday schedules, which currently offer two round-trip flights. Tigerair also operates two return flights on Saturdays and one on Mondays and Wednesdays on that route. Starting next month, the new service will depart Taiwan at 6:05am and return from Macau at 8:35am, offering more flexible options for travelers seeking a short and inexpensive getaway, the carrier said. While Tigerair is optimistic about demand for travel between Taoyuan and Macau, V Air, a low-cost carrier owned by TransAsia Airways, is about to halt operations on the route. V Air said in May that it would suspend flights between Taoyuan and Macau on Friday next week, three months after it launched the route.
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
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
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