POLITICS
Alex Tsai moving to China
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) yesterday said he is leaving to serve as chairman of an automobile company based in China’s Jiangsu Province. The former lawmaker said he had told KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) earlier this year of his intention to resign and is scheduled to leave his post at the end of this month to serve as chairman of Min’an Automobile Co. The firm is a joint venture of Taiwan’s Minth Group and China’s Huai’an Development Holding Co, with paid-in capital of US$130 million. Hung on Thursday was welcomed by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) in Nanjing, before heading to Huai’an yesterday for the company’s opening of a new energy research and development center. Hung is to address a cross-strait forum tomorrow, as well as meet with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference chairman Yu Zhengsheng (俞正聲) while in China.
ENVIRONMENT
City expands bag program
New Taipei City is expanding its plastic shopping bag ban trial program, with 330 stores to stop selling plastic shopping bags starting next month, and 2,630 stores expected to take part by October, an official at the city’s Department of Environmental Protection said. The trial program started last month with 21 stores participating, after the Environmental Protection Administration in April announced that starting next year, all hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores may no longer offer plastic bags for free. Department section chief Sun Chung-wei (孫忠偉) said the policy would become mandatory from next year, requiring that hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores can only sell plastic bags that can be reused as certified garbage bags. Any store found to be in violation will be fined, he said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Music festival to be held
A music festival to promote the Golden Melody Awards and local music businesses is to take place in Taipei from Wednesday to Friday next week, featuring a variety of music performances, conferences and exhibitions. The festival is to feature 12 performances by solo artists and bands, as well as lectures, conferences, exhibitions, music workshops and a platform for cross-music industry collaboration, the organizers said. The annual festival attracts music industry representatives and buyers from Japan, the US and European countries, Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said, adding that this year, to expand the festival’s reach and foster greater cooperation among Asian pop music industries, representatives and buyers from Southeast Asian nations — including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia — have been invited to attend. The Golden Melody Awards ceremony is to be held in the Taipei Arena on Saturday next week.
DIPLOMACY
Lee thanks S African envoy
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) on Thursday presented outgoing South African Representative to Taiwan Musawenkosi Norman Aphane with a medal in recognition of his efforts to promote relations between the two nations. Lee thanked Aphane for his invaluable contribution to advancing cooperation in agriculture, trade and technology. Lee said he hoped Aphane would continue to help strengthen bilateral relations after he returns home. Aphane was awarded the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy in recognition of his contributions to the development of bilateral relations, the ministry said.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
RESTRICTIONS: All food items imported from the five prefectures must be accompanied by radiation and origin certificates, and undergo batch-by-batch inspection The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday announced that almost all produce from five Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster would now be allowed into Taiwan. The five are Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The only items that would still be blocked from being imported into the nation are those that are still banned from being circulated in Japan, the FDA added. With the removal of the ban, items including mushrooms, the meat of wild birds and other wild animals, and koshiabura” (foraged vegetables) would now be permitted to enter Taiwan, along with the other
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
A new tropical storm is expected to form by early tomorrow morning, potentially developing into a medium-strength typhoon that is to affect Taiwan through Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration said today. There are currently two tropical systems circulating to the east of Taiwan, agency forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. The one currently north of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Gebi this afternoon and is expected to veer toward Japan without affecting Taiwan, Hsu said. Another tropical depression is 600km from the east coast and is likely to develp into the named storm Krathon either late tonight or early tomorrow, he said. This
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