Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding
A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan
Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals
Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours
Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old
SEA SEARCH: Nine crew members of a cargo ship had taken to the water after the vessel sunk off the southern coast, with a rescue effort under way, officials said
The strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years yesterday killed three people and flooded parts of the nation’s second-biggest city, while rescuers were searching for nine sailors after their cargo ship sank in the storm. Typhoon Gaemi transformed streets in Kaohsiung into rivers, with some households flooded. Offices and schools were closed for the second consecutive day, with thousands of people evacuated. Three people died and 380 were injured due to strong winds and torrential rainfall brought by Typhoon Gaemi, the Central Emergency Response Center said. The typhoon made landfall in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) at midnight yesterday and departed Taiwan
The live-fire component of Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises are to begin today with a drill dedicated to testing the nation’s ability to defend critical supply lines in the event of an attempted blockade by China, while the four-day annual Wanan air defense exercise is to begin at 1:30pm in central Taiwan. The 40th annual Han Kuang exercises are to run 24 hours a day nationwide from today to Friday, with an emphasis on testing Taiwan’s ability to protect critical infrastructure in the capital, Taipei, and enhance the resilience of key infrastructure nationwide, the Ministry of National Defense said. However, it
Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
CHOSEN TO GOVERN: The party has a responsibility to unite Taiwanese, so that they can forge a collective national identity and build a democratic nation, the president said
Taiwanese have the right to build a democratic, sovereign nation based on the protection of human rights and freedom, President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said in his keynote address at the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) National Congress in Taipei. Lai, who is also the DPP’s chairman, presented three key tasks for party members to focus on: bolstering national identity based on Taiwan sovereignty, deepening democratic values based on the constitutional framework and safeguarding human rights and freedom. “Voters have handed the heavy responsibility of governing this country to the DPP, because they wish for the DPP to continue leading Taiwan into the
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
President William Lai (賴清德) and former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Monday appealed for more attention to be paid to freedom of religion in Asia at a religious freedom event in Tokyo, citing China as being the chief culprit. Lai, who spoke via a prerecorded video, and Pompeo gave separate speeches about many of the same issues at the International Religious Freedom Summit Asia, the Washington Times reported on Monday. The summit was sponsored by Freedom House, the Family Research Council and The Washington Times Foundation, among other organizations. In his prerecorded video speech, Lai called on the international community to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out
Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to
The US military is confident that it would win a war against China if a conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles Q. Brown said at a forum on Saturday. During an interview at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado, on Saturday, CNN reporter Jennifer Griffin asked Brown about the possible outcome of a US-China war in the Taiwan Strait. “Can the US win a war against China if Beijing tries to take Taiwan, from your military perspective?” Griffin asked. “I’m fully confident in our forces. You should be too. We
MAKING WAY: While thanking US President Joe Biden for his endorsement, the vice president said she was looking to earn the Democratic nomination in her own right
US Vice President Kamala Harris moved swiftly to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House after US President Joe Biden stepped aside amid concerns from within their own party that he would be unable to defeat former US president Donald Trump. Biden’s exit on Sunday, prompted by Democratic worries over his fitness for office, was a seismic shift to the presidential contest that upended both major political parties’ carefully honed plans for the November race. Aiming to put weeks of intraparty drama over Biden’s candidacy behind them, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly
ENGLISH-MANDARIN: A lawmaker said that he believed the change was made to follow common practice while operating in international airspace
The air force this month started issuing Chinese-English bilingual radio warnings to expel Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft that fly into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), a senior military official said on July 9. Air Force Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wang Te-yang (王德揚) said the decision was made after considering three factors: enemy threat, the global situation and aviation safety. Previously the air force only used Mandarin when intercepting PLA aircraft that fly into the ADIZ because both sides use it as their official language. An ADIZ is a self-declared area in which a country claims the right to identify,
The trailer of a new TV series portraying a Chinese attack on Taiwan has prompted a wave of emotional response and discussion in the nation. The teaser for Zero Day (零日攻擊), a Taiwanese production partly funded by the government and is expected to air next year, has given many viewers a sense of urgency. Its release this week coincided with annual air raid drills to prepare the nation’s 23 million residents in the event of an invasion by the Chinese military. “I burst into tears watching this. I feel heavy-hearted, and it is scary. However, this is what we need to face
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has selected three locations in the Czech Republic, Japan and the US to set up overseas manufacturing parks in a bid to reduce overseas investment barriers facing Taiwanese firms, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in an interview on Monday. President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has been pushing to implement a policy of setting up overseas manufacturing parks to facilitate the localization of Taiwanese companies — in particular small and medium-sized enterprises — when they move abroad, Kuo said. Using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) as an example, Kuo said that “wherever the
POLITICAL PREFERENCE: During Ma Ying-jeou’s administration, all references to ‘Taiyu’ and Taiwan ‘Minnanyu’ were changed to ‘Minnanyu’ in the Nine-Year Educational Program
The Ministry of Education (MOE) this week announced that it plans to change the name of its official certification test for Hoklo from Minnanyu (閩南語, “Southern Min [abbreviation of Fujian Province]”) to Taiyu (台語, “Taiwanese”). The ministry on Thursday said it planned to amend Article 2 of the Minnanyu Language Certification Test’s Examination Fees Standards based on the Executive Yuan’s national language development plan launched on Aug. 22, 2022. Suggestions are welcome during the 60-day public comment period, the ministry said, adding that barring any significant changes, the amendment is expected to be promulgated as soon as September. Book publishers have said that
Relentless rain yesterday drenched the northern Philippines, triggering floods in Manila and deadly landslides that have killed at least five people as Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon. Rescuers were deployed across the capital to help evacuate people from low-lying homes after downpours turned streets into rivers, trapping vehicles. People clutched umbrellas as they waded through murky water or used small boats and shopping trolleys to move around. “The disturbance it caused is great. The waters reached the second floor of our house,” said Nora Clet, a Manila resident. A state of calamity was declared for the capital, unlocking funds for relief efforts, after