CROSS-STRAIT TIES
Tsai reiterates ‘status quo’
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reiterated that she will maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” if she is elected president, and said China should heed public opinion in Taiwan on cross-strait relations. The majority in Taiwan favor maintaining the “status quo” and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which is in the best interests of all concerned, said Tsai, who is the frontrunner in the lead-up to the presidential election in January next year. Tsai said she hopes Beijing authorities will take time to listen to and understand the views of the Taiwanese.
HEALTH
Dengue cases reach 16,074
The number of dengue fever infections reported in Taiwan since May has reached 16,074, exceeding the 15,492 cases recorded for the whole of last year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The latest figure represents an increase of 792 cases from the previous day, the highest daily increase on record, the CDC said. As of Thursday, 13,960 cases had been reported in Tainan and 1,858 in Kaohsiung, according to CDC figures. In Tainan alone, the number of infections increased by 709 from the previous day. Since May 1, there have been 42 confirmed dengue deaths in Taiwan, the CDC said. It said 12,362 patients have recovered from the mosquito-borne disease, while 51 are being treated in intensive care units.
CULTURE
World dance contest plans
A world dance competition being organized by the New Taipei City Government and the Taiwan International Sport Dance Development Association is set to take place on Oct. 24 in the city’s Sinjhuang Gymnasium. This year, 250 pairs of dancers from 16 countries are to take part in the World Dance Council-Amateur League (WDC-AL) competition, according to the city government’s sports office. This is the fifth consecutive year the two organizations have jointly organized the event, said Huang Ching-yi (黃靜怡), deputy head of the city government’s Department of Education. Last year, the competition was upgraded and renamed the WDC-AL World Cup Asian Dance Tour Taiwan Open and this year, the results of the competition will for the first time be counted as points for the WDC-AL World Open Championships, Huang added. The event has attracted estimated audiences of 6,000 on average over the past few years, association president Sammy Liu (劉順益) said.
SOCIETY
Search for pilots continues
Air and ground search efforts continued yesterday to look for the two missing pilots of AT-3 trainer jet in the mountainous regions bordering Hualien and Nantou counties, with the dispatched military units focused on six locations in the target area, where assessment of aerial photography indicated these as possible sites where the aircraft may have come down. Military officials said on the fourth day of search operation, in addition to the six identified locations, the aircraft crews and ground forces were also instructed be alert and to make reconnaissance checks on valleys, depressions,and lakes in the areas around the 3,785m Mabolasi Mountain (馬博拉斯山) and 3,325m Danda Mountain (丹大山). However, there was no news on finding the two missing pilots as of press time last night.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
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