AVIATION
Taoyuan passengers hit 40m
The number of passengers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport this year had reached 40 million as of Tuesday last weeka, airport officials said on Tuesday, adding that they expect the number to hit 42 million by the end of the year. Breaking the 40 million threshold means that the airport now falls into the same category in terms of size as airports such as Singapore Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, and Incheon International Airport in South Korea. This means that the nation’s main gateway would now have to compete with them in evaluations conducted by organizations such as Airports Council International, the officials said. It is the fifth consecutive year in which the airport has recorded growth in passenger numbers.
WEATHER
Cold front expected
A cold weather front is expected to push temperatures down today, with highs in northern Taiwan forecast to dip by 7°C, the Central Weather Bureau said. Seasonal northeasterly winds were expected to reach the nation last night and temperatures will dip today as the winds strengthen, the bureau said. Highs today are forecast to be 22°C in the north of the nation, 24°C to 25°C in central areas and about 29°C in the south, the bureau said, adding that the front would bring moist air and there is a chance of intermittent rain in northern and eastern areas. Air quality in the center and south of Taiwan fell to hazardous levels yesterday due to a lack of wind to disperse atmospheric pollutants, according to data released by the Environmental Protection Agency. At 8am, the level of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) recorded at 17 monitoring stations reached hazardous levels, the agency said.
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
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
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