Sat, Dec 22, 2018 page3

• Taiwan News Quick Take

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  WEATHER

  Mercury in north to drop

  The sunshine and clear skies in northern Taiwan are likely to end tomorrow, with strong northeasterly winds bringing wet weather and temperatures dropping by several degrees, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. It was mostly clear across Taiwan, with highs of 25°C to 26°C and lows of 16°C to 17°C in the north, and 18°C to 19°C degrees elsewhere, the bureau said. However, the sunny weather will only last for one more day, with the mercury forecast to drop to 19°C to 21°C in the daytime, it said. It forecast that Christmas Day on Tuesday would see warmer weather thanks to a weakening monsoon, with highs of up to 24°C, but the warmth would not last until Wednesday, when another cold air front could drop the mercury in the north to 14°C.

  TOURISM

  Taiwan on Airbnb list

  Airbnb has selected Taiwan as one of 19 destinations worth visiting next year as more Airbnb users include the nation in their booking wish lists, the firm said on Thursday. The company selected 19 travel destinations based on a combination of internal search, booking and wish list data, and said that Taiwan ranked 19th. The inclusion of Taiwan on wish lists on the platform grew by more than 100 percent from November last year to last month. The platform has always been optimistic about Taiwan’s tourism potential and hopes that the list will help its tourism industry and increase its visibility in the international tourist community, Airbnb general manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan Mike Orgill said.

  HEALTH

  Cambodia tops dengue list

  The number of imported dengue fever cases that originated in Cambodia has increased sharply to 66 this year, compared with eight last year, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said yesterday. Cambodia was the largest source of imported dengue fever cases in Taiwan this year, he said. Chuang said the total number of imported cases registered this year until Thursday was 330, with the three main sources being Cambodia, Vietnam (62) and the Philippines (56). Last year, 104 cases originated in Vietnam and 39 in the Philippines, Chuang said. The big jump in infections from Cambodia was due to an increase in Taiwanese visitors to the country this year, he added.

  DIPLOMACY

  Diaoyutai claims restated

  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday reiterated the nation’s claim over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in the East China Sea, known as the Senkakus in Japan, after the Japanese government issued a protest to the ministry over a record number of Taiwanese fishing vessels operating near the islands, which Taipei and Tokyo both claim. The Yomiuri Shimbun on Wednesday reported that the Japanese coast guard had registered a record number of Taiwanese fishing vessels “intruding” within 12 nautical miles (22km) of the Diaoyutais, the distance normally marking territorial waters. Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) reaffirmed that the Diaoyutais are territory of the Republic of China. The foreign ministry would engage in rational dialogue with Japan on the matter, he added. Despite the sovereignty dispute between Taiwan and Japan, fishers from both countries can operate in the overlapping areas of their exclusive economic zones in the East China Sea under the 2013 Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement.
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