■ DEFENSE
Air show canceled
The Air Force yesterday decided to reschedule an air show at its Sungshan Command Headquarters from Sunday to Sept. 2 because of the approach of Typhoon Sepat. The Air Force said that the open house activity and the air show activities will be rescheduled to Sept. 2 at the same place and the same time. An activity at Taichung's Chingchunkang Base tomorrow will be rescheduled to Aug. 26.
■ JUDICIARY
Justices to be named
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is likely to nominate Yang Jen-shou (楊仁壽), head of the Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries, to replace Weng Yueh-sheng (翁岳生) as president of the Judicial Yuan. Weng is retiring, an anonymous source from the legislature said yesterday. A high-ranking official in the legislature said that Chen would submit a list of eight nominees for the Council of Grand Justices to the legislature for confirmation by Tuesday, to succeed the eight justices whose terms of office will expire at the end of next month, including Weng.
■ TRAVEL
Licenses accepted in Japan
The Japanese Cabinet approved on Wednesday an amendment to its traffic laws that recognizes Taiwanese drivers' licenses. Holders of Taiwanese drivers' licenses will be able to drive on roads in Japan starting on Sept. 19, a Taiwanese official stationed in Tokyo said yesterday. The goodwill measure adopted by the Japanese government follows its granting of 90-day visa-free visits for Taiwanese tourists in September 2005. The official said Taiwan's government would recognize Japanese drivers' licenses soon as a reciprocal gesture. Under the new Japanese regulations, a translated certificate should be attached to the drivers' licenses. According to reports, travel service operators in Hokkaido had made great efforts to persuade the Japanese government to recognize Taiwanese licenses.
■ POLITICS
Official's election annulled
The head of a Kaohsiung County township who was elected in December 2005 will be relieved of his position after the Kaohsiung branch of the Taiwan High Court annulled his election on Wednesday. Lin June-tsung (林榮宗), head of Niaosung Township (鳥松) and a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), slammed the court ruling, but said he had no choice but to accept the decision, which is final. Lin assumed office on March 1 last year. The Kaohsiung District Court found Lin guilty of vote-buying in a criminal suit in June last year. That ruling was overturned by the High Court in May this year, but Lin then lost a civil suit in which he contended that the 27 votes his camp was suspected of buying did not sway the outcome of the election, as he won by 3,034 votes. The High Court rejected that argument.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Housing research under way
Chaoyang University of Technology in Taichung County has launched a project to develop eco-friendly housing, a dean said yesterday. A research team will work on prefabricated houses to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impact, the dean of the College of Enterprise Innovation said. The team expects to finish the project in one year and hopes to see mass production of the housing design begin shortly afterward.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
Actress Hu Ling (胡伶) on Saturday became the first Chinese movie star to walk the red carpet of the Golden Horse Awards since 2019, when China boycotted Taiwan’s biggest awards show over political tensions. Beijing banned its entertainers from joining the awards, dubbed the Chinese-language Oscars, after documentary director Fu Yu (傅榆) voiced support for Taiwan’s formal independence in an acceptance speech in 2018. There were no films from China in the 2019 nomination list and several Hong Kong movies dropped out that year, while several big commercial productions were conspicuously absent at both the 2020 and 2021 awards. However, Hu, nominated for
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