WEATHER
Temperature to fall
Temperatures tomorrow are to fall as low as 16°C as seasonal winds from the northeast intensify, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. The north is to see the greatest effect, with daytime temperatures of up to 23°C, bureau forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. Temperatures in central and southern Taiwan could fall to 17°C and 19°C respectively from daytime highs of 25°C to 27°C, Lee said. The system could continue to affect conditions around the nation until Saturday, but its strength is expected to fade after tomorrow, sending temperatures higher. Yesterday, a cloud system moved north from southern Taiwan, causing scattered rainfall around the nation and heavy rain in mountainous areas. Daytime temperatures were about 23°C in the north and rose up to 27°C in central and southern Taiwan, the bureau added.
ENTERTAINMENT
Taipei 101 to host party
Taipei 101 is for the first time to host a “#Party101 Jazz Night Lounge Party” on its first floor office lobby on New Year’s Eve. In addition to jazz performances, virtual-reality games and photograph sticker machines, hundreds of bottles of whiskey, thousands of bottles of craft beer, soft drinks and various light refreshments are to be offered to partygoers. Only 1,010 guests would be able to attend, of which 500 could pay extra to watch the New Year fireworks from the building’s viewing platform. Tickets are to go on sale on Dec. 1. The skyscraper is also to hold its annual fireworks show, which is to feature 16,000 fireworks and its “T-Pad” LED lighting system measuring 100.8m by 168m on the building’s north side.
POLITICS
Chang eyes presidency
Former premier Simon Chang (張善政), who advised Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates in Saturday’s nine-in-one elections, on Monday said he is considering running in the 2020 presidential election as an independent candidate. The 64-year-old, who serves as chairman of the Taiwan Mobile Foundation, said that he began to consider joining the race when people asked him to run for president while stumping for candidates in Saturday’s local elections. Chang was vice premier under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) from Dec. 7, 2014, to Feb. 1, 2016. Chang then served as premier until May 20, 2016.
ARTS
Cheang to fly to Venice
Taiwanese multimedia artist Cheang Shu-lea (鄭淑麗) is to represent the nation at the 58th Venice Arte Biennale, the first female artist to be chosen since 2015, the Taiwan Fine Arts Museum said on Monday. Cheang is to be the first woman to represent the Taiwan pavilion since the nation began to send a single artist to the biennale in 2015, according to the museum’s press release. Cheang said in a statement that her piece, titled 3x3x6, was inspired by the exhibition venue, Palazzo delle Prigioni, which was a Venetian government prison in the 16th century. The work addresses the theme of crime and punishment, as well as modern imprisonment and surveillance devices, and 10 historical figures imprisoned due to their sexual orientation are included in the piece to highlight transgender issues, the artist said. The 58th Venice Arte Biennale is to take place from May 11 to Nov. 24 next year, according to the exhibition’s Web site.
‘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
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