WEATHER
Typhoon headed north
Super Typhoon Maria could hit Taiwan directly and the chances of sea and land warnings being issued are high due to a constantly strengthening Pacific anticyclone, a Central Weather Bureau forecaster said yesterday. The storm is forecast to hit the north either on Tuesday evening or Wednesday, and sea and land warnings would probably be issued tomorrow evening, Yen Tseng-hsi (顏增璽) said. As of 2pm yesterday, the typhoon was 2,140km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) on Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwestward toward the island at 12kph. It was strengthening and carrying maximum sustained winds of 184kph with gusts of up to 227 kph, the bureau said.
DIPLOMACY
Envoy to Switzerland named
The Presidential Office on Friday announced that it has appointed a new representative to Switzerland. It said on its Web site that it nominated David Huang (黃偉峰), an associate research fellow at Academia Sinica. Huang was vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council from October 2004 to September 2005 and deputy representative to the US from June 2007 to July 2008. Departing Representative to Switzerland Gu Ruey-sheng (谷瑞生) is to take charge of a commission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the office said. It on Thursday approved Representative to South Korea Joseph Shih’s (石定) request to retire from his post. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands Tang Diann-wen (唐殿文) is expected to take over Shih’s post, diplomatic sources said.
ACTIVITIES
Yilan summer festival opens
The annual International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame Festival yesterday opened in Yilan County’s Wujie Township (五結). The event features a variety of water games and do-it-yourself activities for families and children. One of the highlights this year is the Flying Fish Pirate Ship, a 50m long, 9m tall structure with a 50m waterslide, Yilan Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lee Chih-yung (李志勇) said. Another attraction is the Water Volcano, where children get to climb obstacles and slide down into a swimming pool, Lee said. Besides water-related fun, there are also more subtle games, such as indoor mazes and interactive exhibitions for people of all ages, the cultural affairs bureau said. The festival, which is held at the Dongshan River Water Park, is to feature music and dance performances by artists from 22 countries and runs through Aug. 19.
CRIME
Sedative seized in Keelung
Keelung Customs officers in March seized a large haul of the controlled substance Erimin in New Taipei City, the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau said on Friday. A cargo truck carrying 651kg of the sedative in a container destined for Malaysia was intercepted by customs officers at the Port of Taipei on March 15, the bureau said. A search revealed 2.4 million Erimin tablets packaged into 48 paper bags that were hidden between 512 similar bags containing plastic pellets, investigators said. The drug haul, with an estimated street value of NT$480 million (US$15.74 million), was the biggest cache of Erimin seized in Taiwan this year, they said. Investigators on March 29 arrested a couple in the case, and seized packaging materials and sealing machines in New Taipei City. Erimin is a brand name for nimetazepam, a hypnotic sedative that was prescribed for the treatment of severe insomnia, but was discontinued by the sole manufacturer in 2015. Taiwan classifies Erimin as a Class 3 narcotic.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition