WEATHER
Temperatures to drop
A cold front moving across the nation will send temperatures plunging to a low of 9°C in northern and central Taiwan by early this morning, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. All areas of the country are expected to experience a sharp drop in temperature from yesterday until this afternoon, the bureau said. After that, temperatures in regions north of the Chiayi area are expected to rise to between 15°C and 18°C, the bureau said. The cold weather will last until Friday, with a small chance of rain and snow in the mountainous areas of country, according to the bureau.
TRAVEL
Canada raises work quota
More Taiwanese will be able to take a working holiday in Canada next year after Ottawa raised the quota for Taiwanese participation in the program from 700 to 1,000, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) said in a statement yesterday. “The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei is pleased to announce that we have increased our quota for the 2011 International Experience Canada initiative to 1,000 for Taiwan,” the office said. Taiwan and Canada signed an agreement earlier this year to launch the working holiday program on July 1. Under the program, people aged 18 to 35 from the two countries are allowed to travel and work in each other’s country for up to one year. The original annual quota of 200 was raised to 700 on July 27 because of an enthusiastic response from local youth. CTOT said it would be accepting applications for the program postmarked on or after Jan. 10. Taipei has signed working holiday agreements with six countries — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Germany and Japan.
BUSINESS
Foodies swap ideas
Food business operators from Taiwan and the US exchanged ideas on how to break into each other’s market on the opening day of the Gourmet Taiwan International Conference in Taipei yesterday. The opening ceremony was attended by more than 200 participants, including a group of 30 people from the US engaged in the food and hotel sectors, said the ROC-USA Business Council, the main organizer of the four-day conference. Chen Fei-lung (陳飛龍), executive supervisor of the business council, said he hoped that with the support of the government, Taiwanese foods and food businesses would be able to go international. Working with overseas compatriots and exploring global markets will be a positive force for the Taiwanese food industry because more jobs and business opportunities will be created, he said. The conference will include a series of keynote speeches and Taiwanese food business operators will have the opportunity to hold discussions with their counterparts from the US.
POLITICS
Kaohsiung officials resign
Senior Kaohsiung City Government officials yesterday resigned en masse to allow Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) to appoint her new administrative team for the soon-to-be-created Greater Kaohsiung municipality. A total of 24 political appointees, including Deputy Mayor Lee Yung-te (李永得), stepped down while Chen promised to give talents from Kaohsiung County equal opportunities to serve in the Greater Kaohsiung Government. After the merger of the city and county is completed on Dec. 25, Greater Kaohsiung will become the nation’s second-largest administrative municipality. Chen said that age, gender and expertise would be key factors in choosing staffers.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Tibetans to walk 400km
Exiled Tibetans in Taiwan will start to walk from the north to the south of the island on Friday to raise public awareness of China’s suppression of their homeland. The 13-day event will be part of the “Walk for Tibet” global campaign aimed at “sharing our message of world peace, human rights and the Tibetan struggle for independence,” the organizers said. Jigme Norbu, nephew of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and son of the late Taktser Rinpoche, who supported Tibetan independence, will join the activity, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan chairman Tashi Tsering said in a statement on Monday. The walk in Taiwan will cover more than 400km and 10 counties.
CHARITY
PBF to hold charity sale
The personal belongings of Taiwanese baseball celebrities will go on sale at a charity bazaar this week to raise money for premature babies, event organizer Premature Baby Foundation (PBF) said on Monday. Though national health insurance subsidizes between 80 and 90 percent of the medical care expenses for premature babies, some families still find it hard to afford extra treatment and counseling services that are not reimbursed by the insurance system, PBF president Lee Hung-chang (李宏昌) said. “We hope to raise public awareness about the needs of families with premature children through the sale,” Lee said. Yuki Huang, the mother of two premature babies born at 28 and 26 weeks respectively, said she was thankful for the financial support offered by the foundation. “Preemie parents have constant doubts about the babies’ well-being after being discharged from hospital,” said Huang, whose worries eased after enrolling in the foundation’s free follow-up program.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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