■ Politics
Lazy lawmakers condemned
The Nuke-4 Referendum Initiative Association (核四公投促進會) yesterday urged legislators to be responsible about reviewing bills, saying it expected lawmakers to not just worry about their re-election bids while getting nowhere in the legislative session. The chief executive of the association, Iap Phok-bun (葉博文), made the remarks when visiting the Democratic Progressive Party's headquarters yes-terday afternoon, saying most legislative candidates violate the Public Officials Election and Recall Law (公職人員選舉罷免法) which says all electioneering activity can only begin 10 days before election day. Iap said that most legislators are now mostly focused on their re-election campaigns, and don't attend the legis-lative sessions to review budgets or discuss draft laws, which has caused some budgets to be passed without cuts or discussion. Iap said the association will visit the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party today to ask their party members to be dutiful lawmakers.
■ Diplomacy
Typhoon delays Kim visit
The schedule for former South Korean president Kim Young Sam's visit was affected by Typhoon Nock-Ten, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Kim had been scheduled to arrive at CKS International Airport at 11:30am yesterday on a China Airlines flight. Because of the typhoon, Kim's arrival was delayed to around 6pm, ministry officials said, adding that the exact arrival time would depend on the weather conditions. Kim and his wife were invited by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to visit.
■ Weather
East coast enjoys sun
Taitung County residents enjoyed an extra day off at the beach as the county government announced on Sunday it would close schools and offices yester-day for fear of potential damage by Typhoon Nock-ten. The county saw strong winds and heavy rains late Sunday night. However, the county, along with most of eastern Taiwan, enjoyed sunshine yesterday while the typhoon dumped heavy rains in the north. Temperatures in Taitung City, Tawu village and Chengkong Township reached almost 31?C because of the hot air brought by the southwestern air current.
■ Health
Dengue fever cases climb
The Kaohsiung City Govern-ment has been informed by the Center for Disease Control that three new cases of locally-caught dengue fever have been identified, leaving the city with 14 cases of dengue fever this year. The city's Health Bureau said yesterday all the patient's conditions have been brought under control, and the three are recovering well. The bureau will moni-tor the outbreak through the joint disease-prevention mechanism established by Kaohsiung City, County and Pintung County govern-ments. Among the three new cases of locally-caught Dengue Fever, two caught the disease in Lingya district and one in Hsinhsing district.
■ Society
Employee dies at desk
A technician with the Central Weather Bureau, Chang Chao-yen (張朝彥), died yesterday afternoon after an asthma attack suspected to have been induced by overwork, bureau Vice Director Chen Chia-ping (程家平) said yesterday. Chen said that Chang, 40, was found dead at his desk by colleagues. Chang is survived by two young children.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
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