WEATHER
Heavy rain forecast
A stationary front brought heavy rain to the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) in Pingtung County early yesterday, resulting in flooding to a depth of 20cm in Heng-chun Township (恆春) within three hours, which blocked the northbound lane of Highway 26. The Central Weather Bureau issued torrential rain warnings for northeastern and western Taiwan, as well as parts of the south, adding that other areas are also likely to see showers or thunderstorms. The bureau said the front would continue to affect the nation’s weather through Tuesday. It said people should be alert to the danger of landslides, falling rocks and swollen rivers, as well as possible flooding in low-lying areas.
SOCIETY
Airport security tightened
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to be equipped with electric fences to step up security following a series of perimeter intrusions. Airport authorities said that about 15km of electric fencing would be erected around the airport’s apron in stages, starting in November, to keep unauthorized people out of restricted areas. The announcement comes after three Thai workers were caught fishing on May 5 near a drain inside a restricted zone in the southern wing of the airport. The trio were detained by airport police for questioning and fined NT$5,000 each for violating the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法). The investigators said the three were originally fishing in a stream outside the airport’s apron, but later crawled onto the airport grounds, where they felt the fishing would be better.
EDUCATION
Exhibition opens at NTU
An exhibition of rare specimens and artifacts held by National Taiwan University (NTU) and the University of Tokyo opened yesterday in Taipei to promote education and research, organizers said. The exhibition, titled “Extravagance: Out of Scale, Out of Norm, Out of Rule,” features about 50 specimens and replicas of rare insects, animals, plants and minerals. Items on display include a long-tailed Onagadori cock with a 4.7m-long tail, an egg and leg bone of what was once the world’s heaviest bird — the Aepyornis — the world’s heaviest insect, the world’s largest moth, precious coral specimens and a rare green sea turtle. Replicas of the world’s largest blue diamond and the world’s largest gold and platinum nuggets are also on display. The exhibition will run until Sept. 23 at the National Taiwan University Library.
POLITICS
DPP members sue police
Members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) filed lawsuits against the Taipei police yesterday for physical assault, a day after clashes between party protesters and police on Ketegalan Boulevard. The suits were filed with the Taipei District Court by DPP Greater Tainan Councilor Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) and DPP Taipei City Councilor Tung Chung-yen (童仲彥) against Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧), head of the Zhongzheng First Police Precinct covering claims of physical assault, sexual harassment and offenses against personal liberty. Tung and Wang said although Wednesday’s gathering to petition the president was legal, the police had forcefully dispersed it. Fang said the police had asked the protesters on several occasions to apply for permission to assembly, but the group had not complied. Some protesters rammed into police, who were trying to maintain order, injuring several officers in the process, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS