WEATHER
No threat of storm: CWB
A tropical storm that formed over the Pacific late on Tuesday will not immediately threaten Taiwan, but it could turn into a typhoon as it moves closer to the nation, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, Chan-hom, the ninth storm of this year’s Pacific typhoon season, was centered about 4,140km east-southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost tip and moving at 18kph in a west-northwesterly direction. Chan-hom had sustained winds of 72kph and maximum sustained winds of 101kph, the bureau said. The storm is not likely to affect the nation’s weather in the coming days, as a high-pressure system continues to produce clear skies with high temperatures, forecasters said. However, the storm’s ultimate course remains unclear and might not be known until next week. Chan-hom is Laotian for a type of tree.
WEATHER
High UV levels persist: EPA
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday warned of high ultraviolet radiation amid clear skies, urging people to avoid outdoor activities until after 2pm. Hsinchu and Miaoli counties, where the UV index hit 13, were at the greatest risk yesterday, the agency said. The UV index in parts of Hualien and Taitung counties reached 12 in the morning, while most other areas of the nation recorded ultraviolet radiation levels of 11 at some point and ranged from 8 to 10 as of 11am, EPA data showed. The agency said readings of 8 or higher are considered “very high,” with anything above 11 seen as “dangerous.” A dangerous reading means a sunburn can occur after standing in sunlight for just 15 minutes.
POLITICS
Tsai tuning campaign music
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday invited Internet users to vote for songs to be included in DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidential campaign CD. DPP spokesperson Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄) said that netizens can select 20 songs from more than 100 submitted by professional and amateur musicians, alongside a panel of 14 judges — including experts in Mandarin, Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Hakka and Aboriginal music — set to choose 10 songs to be included on the CD. The final selections are to be broadcast live online on Thursday next week. Ballots can be cast online at melody.iing.tw/songs.
TRANSPORTATION
Tigerair to add Macau flights
Tigerair Taiwan, a joint venture between China Airlines and Singapore’s Tiger Airways, yesterday said it would increase the number of flights on its Taoyuan-Macau route beginning on Aug. 1. The budget airline said it would add an extra flight per day to its Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday schedules, which currently offer two round-trip flights. Tigerair also operates two return flights on Saturdays and one on Mondays and Wednesdays on that route. Starting next month, the new service will depart Taiwan at 6:05am and return from Macau at 8:35am, offering more flexible options for travelers seeking a short and inexpensive getaway, the carrier said. While Tigerair is optimistic about demand for travel between Taoyuan and Macau, V Air, a low-cost carrier owned by TransAsia Airways, is about to halt operations on the route. V Air said in May that it would suspend flights between Taoyuan and Macau on Friday next week, three months after it launched the route.
‘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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
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
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