■Weather
Watch out for typhoon: CWB
The Central Weather Bureau yesterday called for heightened public awareness against heavy rains and strong winds likely to bear down on the nation as the typhoon Soudelor gained momentum. The latest weather data showed Soudelor has gained force to become a typhoon from a tropical storm as it approached the nation. "The typhoon is currently above the waters of the Bashi Channel and moving north," an official at the bureau said. "Ships sailing on the Bashi Channel and on the waters northeast and southeast of the island must heighten their vigilance," he said. Soudelor was located some 280km southeast of Eruanpi, the southern-most tip of Taiwan, at 2pm, the bureau said. With winds of 110km per hour, the typhoon was moving north at 19km per hour, it said. Soudelor tracked the Pacific coast of the northern Philippines Monday, displacing about 200 people and leaving thousands stranded at key ports, rescuers there said.
■ Politics
Ma's man to visit HK
Taipei Deputy Mayor Ou Chin-der (歐晉德) is scheduled to visit Singapore and Hong Kong in mid-July as part of the city government's efforts to contain and prevent SARS. Ou will travel at the behest of Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to exchange views with health-care workers who have been on the frontlines in the fight against SARS. Ou will also gather information on their experience in SARS containment, quarantine policies and other preventive measures. According to Ou, the city government has begun to build a fixed municipal mechanism for SARS prevention and containment as well as for reconstruction in the post-SARS era. Taipei has decided to include SARS in the city government's comprehensive disaster prevention system, Ou said.
■ Legislature
President denies pay raise
A Presidential Office spokesman said yesterday that contrary to claims by the opposition, the personal wealth of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has declined rather than increased. James Huang (黃志芳) said that according to a record of assets filed Feb. 13, the president's assets last year decreased NT$1.7 million (US$48,571) from the previous year, so it is unclear why the opposition is spreading allegations about a surge in the president's wealth. Huang made the remarks in the wake of allegations by legislators Liao Feng-teh (廖風德) and Kwan Yuk-noan (關沃暖) of the opposition KMT and former Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平).
■ Identity
China blasts passport change
China yesterday criticized Taiwan's addition of the word "Taiwan" to its passport cover and urged other countries to back Beijing's claim of sovereignty over the nation. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (劉健超) said the passport revision was a form of "progressive independence separatist activity and another step to undermine cross-straits relations. ... It cannot but give rise to a high degree of alert from the Chinese people." The new passport design, unveiled on Thursday, adds "Taiwan" below Republic of China. Liu urged other countries to "respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and remain vigilant against the Taiwanese authorities' activities. ... No matter what tricks the Taiwanese authorities play it cannot change the fact that Taiwan is a part of China.
Agencies
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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