﹥POLITICS
Municipalities＊ date set
Four new special municipalities will be inaugurated on Dec. 25 next year after plans to restructure the country＊s existing administrative regions have been completed, the Ministry of the Interior announced yesterday. The plans involve upgrading Taipei County, merging Kaohsiung County with Kaohsiung City, which is already a special municipality, merging Taichung City with Taichung County and merging Tainan City with Tainan County to create the special municipalities. The plans, which were approved by the Cabinet on Aug. 27, were promulgated by the ministry yesterday. In line with the plans, the local government elections for the areas that were originally set for December have been postponed to late next year.
﹥DIPLOMACY
AIT closed on Monday
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday said all of its offices in Taiwan will be closed on Monday to observe Labor Day in the US. The offices will re-open on Tuesday, it added. Meanwhile, a separate AIT press statement said representatives from the American Citizen Services Unit will be in Taichung on Sept. 16 to provide consular services to US citizens. ※Only [US] passport renewal and notary services will be available. Payment for services must be made in cash in either NT dollars or US dollars only. Individuals should bring the exact amount as change will not be available,§ the press statement said. No appointments are required, the release said. For more information, check the Web site at Taichung.ait.org.tw/zh/ or call AIT＊s Taipei Office at (02)2162-2306.
﹥CRIME
Protected turtles seized
A total of 1,255 protected Chinese yellow margined box turtles have been seized at Kaohsiung International Airport, a customs official said on Monday. The snake-eating turtles, known by the scientific name Cuora flavomarginata, were uncovered last weekend when customs officers inspected an export shipment that was listed as green-headed turtles, or Ocadia sinensis, on the customs declaration form, the official said. It was the first time the Kaohsiung customs office seized such a large number of protected animal species headed abroad, the official said. The turtles were placed in 50 well-packed cases, each containing three plastic containers with dividers. Opening them proved difficult and time-〝consuming, but customs officers discovered the protected turtles in the containers below the top level in each carton. The would-be exporter violated the Wildlife Protection Act (撖蛺婧琲僋蹀跏) and smuggling regulations and will be prosecuted, officials said.
﹥DIPLOMACY
Gambia donates funds
The West African country of Gambia has donated US$700,000 to help with relief projects in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot that wreaked havoc in southern Taiwan last month. Gambian Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy presented the donation to Ambassador Richard Shih (鉥覅悜) in a ceremony held at the Gambian Presidential Office last Friday, the officials said. Njie-Saidy also expressed condolences and sympathy for typhoon-〝affected Taiwanese on behalf of the Gambia. As of Monday, 85 countries, international organizations, non-government organizations and charities had extended condolences, provided relief supplies or made cash donations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Foreign donations had reached NT$380 million (US$11.52 million).
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
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