■ ELECTIONS
Small parties to debate
Televised election debates among legislative candidates for nine minor political parties will be held tomorrow and Sunday, organizers said yesterday. Candidates for the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, the Home Party, the Hakka Party, Green Party Taiwan, the Taiwan Farmers' Party, The Third Society Party, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, the Civic Party and the Taiwan Constitution Association will elaborate on their campaign platforms, answer questions from civic representatives and debate policies at two sessions scheduled to take place at the Public Television Service (PTS) studio in Taipei. The debates will begin at 5:30pm and end at 8pm and will be televised live by PTS. The legislative elections are on Jan. 12.
■ TRANSPORT
No licenses for tall buses
As of next month, buses higher than 3.5m will no longer be issued licenses, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. It said that tall buses have a higher center of gravity and that this had led to safety concerns. Tall buses already licensed will be allowed to run for the duration of their lifespan but no new buses of that height will be registered. The maximum commercial lifespan for large buses here is eight years. The ministry said additional brake testing measures for buses will also begin next month.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Tainan sees gold in scraps
Kitchen waste in Tainan City is expected to generate NT$40 million in revenues for the city government over the next two years, officials with the city's Environmental Protection Bureau said yesterday. They said the biennial bidding for the rights to the kitchen scraps took place on Wednesday. A hog farmer in Rende Township (仁德), Tainan County, was the highest bidder with an offer of NT$2.6 per kilogram -- nearly five times as much as the previous winning bid two years ago. Competition was keen, with nine bidders this year compared to just three in 2005, they said. If the quantity of kitchen waste collected remains level, the new contract will net NT$40 million for the city, they said.
■ TRANSPORT
TRA resumes lunchbox sales
The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) has begun offering passengers fried noodle lunchboxes, breaking from its tradition of rice-based lunches. The "A-Fu Chowmien" lunchboxes have mushrooms, shredded meat, onions, dried shrimp and other traditional ingredients and will be sold in the Taichung, Kaohsiung and Taipei stations. Only 200 boxes a day will be sold in each station and they will be available at 11am and then again at 4:30pm. The TRA had not been selling lunchboxes for almost a year because it could not find a qualified vendor. On Tuesday, the TRA awarded a new contract to Tseng A-fa (曾阿發), who won the bid by offering the agency an annual premium of NT$1.15 million. The lunchboxes would cost NT$50, Tseng said.
■ CONSUMER GOODS
Christmas wares targeted
Most Christmas products sold in Taipei stores contain fluorescent penetrant -- a whitening agent that may damage the health, the Consumers' Foundation said yesterday. Foundation chairman Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) said staffers conducted ultraviolet light tests on 21 Christmas products bought at random. Twenty of the samples showed a fluorescent reaction. Cheng urged the government to regulate the use of the penetrants.
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The New Taipei City Government today warned about the often-overlooked dangers of playing in water, and recommended safe swimming destinations to cool off from the summer heat. The following locations in the city as safe and fun for those looking to enjoy the water: Chienshuiwan (淺水灣), Baishawan (白沙灣), Jhongjiao Bay (中角灣), Fulong Beach Resort (福隆海水浴場) and Sansia District’s (三峽) Dabao River (大豹溪), New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department Director-General Yang Tsung-min (楊宗珉) said. Outdoor bodies of water have variables outside of human control, such as changing currents, differing elevations and environmental hazards, all of which can lead to accidents, Yang said. Sudden
Tropical Storm Podul has formed over waters north-northeast of Guam and is expected to approach the seas southeast of Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The 11th Pacific storm of the year developed at 2am over waters about 2,660km east of Oluanpi (歐鑾鼻), Pingtung County — Taiwan's southernmost tip. It is projected to move westward and could have its most significant impact on Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday next week, the CWA said. The agency did not rule out the possibility of issuing a sea warning at that time. According to the CWA's latest update, Podul is drifting west-northwest
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