CUSTOMS
Foreign currencies seized
Customs authorities confiscated undeclared foreign currencies to the value of more than NT$168 million (US$5.24 million) in the first six months of this year, with the yen accounting for 77 percent, according to government statistics released on Tuesday. Travelers entering and leaving the country are required by law to declare any foreign currency valued at more than US$10,000. Undeclared foreign currency is subject to confiscation. From January to June, 78 cases of undeclared foreign currencies to the value of NT$168.26 million were seized, with 17 cases involving arriving travelers and 61 cases involving departing travelers, according to the Customs Administration. Customs Administration Deputy Girector-General Hsieh Ling-yuan (謝玲媛) said that many travelers buy large amounts of yen in advance and attempt to take it overseas with them to avoid foreign-exchange losses, as its value is increasing.
ENTERTAINMENT
Queen to rock Taipei
British rock band Queen is to hold its first-ever concert in Taiwan in September. Queen, fronted by American Idol host Adam Lambert, rather than original front man Freddie Mercury who died in 1991, are to perform at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall on Sept. 19. The concert is part of the Queen + Adam Lambert: Live 2016 Asia tour, which is also visiting to Israel, Singapore, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Thailand. Concert tickets range from NT$2,500 to NT$6,800 and are being sold by tixCraft. Formed in 1970, Queen has released 15 studio albums and is one of the world’s best-selling bands. Queen’s hit songs include We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions.
WEATHER
CWB eyes possible storm
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday said it is keeping a close eye on whether a tropical disturbance near the Philippines is likely to develop into the fourth storm of the Pacific typhoon season. Atmospheric conditions are conducive to the formation of a tropical storm or typhoon, but it is still too early to tell because the tropical disturbance has not yet developed into a tropical depression, the bureau said. The bureau said that several countries have predicted that the disturbance will become the fourth storm of the season by Sunday, but added that it would not make a public forecast until after further observation and analysis. All three of the storms this season — Typhoon Nepartak, Tropical Storm Lupit and Tropical Storm Mirinae — occurred this month. The bureau said that the nation’s weather is likely to remain sunny over the next few days, with highs forecast to hit 36oC in northern Taiwan, 35oC in central areas, 34oC in southern Taiwan and 33oC in eastern parts.
SOCIETY
Fire sparks evacuation
A fire broke out at the Taipei Water Park in Taipei’s Gongguan (公館) area at 2pm yesterday, which led to the evacuation of about 1,250 visitors, the Taipei Water Department said, adding that injuries were reported. It took emergency response personnel 30 minutes to extinguish the fire, the department said. Park administrators said that a number of solar panels overlooking a sedimentation pool apparently ignited due to the sweltering heat yesterday. Thirty-five solar panels, whose combined cost was estimated at NT$3 million (US$93,551), were destroyed in the blaze, park officials said.
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