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.
TRAVEL CONFERENCE: Representatives from the two countries exchanged views on how to increase tourist numbers, with one identifying individual travel as a trend Taiwan and South Korea aim to increase the number of tourists traveling between the two countries to 3 million, government and tourism industry representatives said at a conference in Hsinchu City yesterday. The annual event was attended by Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯); Tourism Bureau Director-General Chang Shi-chung (張錫聰); Taiwan Visitors Association chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭); South Korean Representative to Taiwan Chung Byung-won; Yoon Ji-sook, an official at the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; and Korea Association of Travel Agents chairman Oh Chang-hee. Global tourism is expected to soon rebound to between 55 and
HASTY PLAN: Instructors must teach in a language they are not fluent in, while students are forced to learn new subjects in a tongue they do not know, teachers said The National Federation of Teachers Unions (NFTU) yesterday urged the government to thoroughly review its Bilingual 2030 policy, saying it has caused problems in elementary and high schools, and might affect the quality of education in other subjects. The government on March 28 changed its original “Bilingual Nation 2030” plan to the “Bilingual 2030” plan, no longer aiming to turn Taiwan into a Mandarin-English bilingual nation by 2030, NFTU president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) told a news conference in Taipei. Despite the change, the policy’s budget, resources and most of its content remain the same, causing unusual scenes on campuses, he said. Cheng Chi-yi
VIRUS TRACES: Macau is not following international standards, with the WHO saying that COVID-19 cannot be transmitted on packaging, the Council of Agriculture said Macau on Saturday placed a ban on mango imports from a Taiwanese company after traces of the COVID-19 virus were allegedly detected in a shipment, the second such ban in two days. The Macau Municipal Affairs Bureau placed a one-week suspension on the unnamed company’s imports after samples collected from external packaging of its products allegedly tested positive for the nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2. The batches of mangoes from which the samples were collected have been destroyed, the bureau said, adding that the ban is “aimed at protecting Macau residents instead of targeting specific countries or regions.” However, there is “currently no evidence
Taiwanese singer Miu Chu (朱俐靜) passed away over the weekend after a battle with breast cancer, her family announced yesterday. She was 40 years old. The family wrote on Chu’s Facebook fan page that she died peacefully. “Thank you all for your concern. Miu, who was always full of laughter and always brought people positive energy with her music, left us peacefully on July 3,” the family said. The family asked for privacy at this time and said that details of a memorial service would be announced later. Chu was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. She was an alumna of the TV reality show
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