WEATHER
High temperatures forecast
Most parts of the nation are forecast to see highs of 30oC or more, along with partly cloudy to sunny weather this weekend, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Daytime highs are forecast to climb to between 30oC and 34oC over the three-day break from yesterday to tomorrow. Temperatures tomorrow are expected to hit 33oC in Taipei and Taichung, and 34oC in Chiayi, Pingtung and Taitung, the bureau said. Showers are expected in Kinmen, Penghu and Lienchiang, with Matsu forecast to record a high of 28oC this weekend, it said. Scattered showers are likely in eastern Taiwan, while afternoon thunderstorms are forecast for the northern, eastern and mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan between today and Monday, it added.
CRIME
KTV death toll rises to six
Another victim died from injuries sustained in a fire at a karaoke outlet on Sunday last week, bringing the death toll from the incident to six, police said on Thursday. The 29-year-old man, surnamed Chang (張), was in a critical condition when he was taken to National Taiwan University Hospital and placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, police said. However, his condition failed to improve and his family decided to end treatment after discussions with medical personnel. He passed away on Thursday afternoon, police said. Chang is the sixth person to have died from the fire, which broke out at the Cashbox Partyworld KTV branch on Linsen N Road. At the time, all five major safety features — an indoor fire hydrant, automatic sprinkler system, automatic fire alarm, emergency broadcasting system and smoke extraction equipment — were not working, investigating police and prosecutors said on Tuesday. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday said a report determining responsibility for the fire would be released within a week, adding that the city government had set up an investigation committee to look into the safety inspection system.
CRIME
Man fined for pet’s action
A man in Miaoli County, surnamed Liao (廖), was fined NT$3,000 after a local police precinct received a video clip dated March 22 showing his dog poking its head out of a backseat window while he was driving in the city. Police said that pets, considered as properties by law, are subject to Article 29 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), which states that drivers could be fined between NT$3,000 and NT$9,000 for carrying items that exceed the regulated length, width or height limits.
DIPLOMACY
Dutch office pulls video
The Netherlands’ de facto embassy in Taiwan on Thursday confirmed that it had taken down a video on its Facebook page, in which it had announced a name change from the “Netherlands Trade and Investment Office” to the “Netherlands Office Taipei.” In the five-minute address in the video, Dutch Representative Guy Wittich said that relations and cooperation between Taiwan and the Netherlands have continued to strengthen in many areas. The video was a livestream that was on Facebook and YouTube for only a couple of hours, the office said in response to reporters’ queries about the issue. The video was removed after China protested the name change, urging the Netherlands to adhere to the “one China principle.” The move by the Netherlands to change the name of its Taipei office followed similar decisions by Australia, the UK, Japan and Poland over the past few years.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
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