DIPLOMACY
Tsai welcomes Haiti envoy
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday welcomed new Haitian Ambassador Roudy Stanley Penn, who presented his credentials to her at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Penn has rich experience in the public and private sectors, and his appointment was indicative of the high value Haiti places on diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Tsai said at a welcoming ceremony. She added that she looked forward to working with the new ambassador to deepen the friendship and exchanges between the two nations, which in April celebrated 65 years of diplomatic relations. Penn replaced Herve Denis, who served briefly from January to April. On May 19, Penn presented his credentials to Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), in line with diplomatic protocol, under which a new ambassador first presents their credentials to the foreign minister of the host country and then to its head of state.
RECREATION
Hiking applications surge
Taroko National Park Headquarters on Monday said that 10,271 people had applied for hiking permits in anticipation of COVID-19 measures being eased after Monday next week. As the daily number of confirmed cases continues trending downward, hikers are eager to visit parks that have been closed since a nationwide COVID-19 alert was imposed on May 19. With the online application system for park permits and accommodations open for reservation, the Chilai Main North Peak (奇萊主北線) route has drawn about 4,200 applications for hiking permits, park recreation director Nieh Shih-chao (聶士詔) said. Next on the list are Nanhu Mountain (南湖大山線) with 3,200 applications, and the Nanhu Mountain-North Central Mountain Range (南湖中央尖) and Jhueilu Historic Trail (錐麓古道), with about 2,000 each, he said. All applications are still pending an official decision on the easing of disease prevention measures, Nieh said, adding that rangers would be sent to improve safety measures in the event of a reopening.
ENVIRONMENT
Slow down for butterflies
Motorists on Provincial Highway 26 are urged to slow down to reduce roadkill of purple crow butterflies that are migrating south, Kenting National Park Headquarters said on Friday. The hotspots along the highway where purple crow butterflies could be particularly vulnerable are the sections near Nanwan Beach (南灣), and between the Houwan (後灣) and Shihjhu (石珠) areas, it said. Drivers are asked to travel no faster than 50kph on the highway that connects Taitung and Pingtung counties to create a safer environment for the species as their migration peaks this month, it said. Purple crow butterflies fly south to Hengchun Peninsula during their migration, heading toward Eluanbi on the nation’s southernmost tip before turning west to areas near Nanwan, it said.
WEATHER
Biggest reservoir filling up
Heavy rainfall in the past few weeks has increased the water level in Chiayi’s Zengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫), the nation’s largest, from almost dry to more than half full, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said on Monday. A series of weather fronts that started arriving in late May have dumped significant rainfall in catchment areas in southern Taiwan, including at Zengwen Reservoir, which now contains 290.74 million cubic meters of water, the highest volume among the nation’s reservoirs, the WRA said. That brought Zengwen’s water level from a low of about 5 percent in May to 57.06 percent, it said.
A tropical depression in waters east of the Philippines could develop into a tropical storm as soon as today and bring rainfall as it approaches, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, while issuing heat warnings for 14 cities and counties. Weather model simulations show that there are still considerable differences in the path that the tropical depression is projected to take. It might pass through the Bashi Channel to the South China Sea or turn northeast and move toward the sea south of Japan, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said, adding that the uncertainty of its movement is still high,
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
Discounted 72-hour Taipei Metro passes are to be offered to China Airlines passengers until Feb. 28 next year, the airline announced today. China Airlines passengers may present their boarding pass for a discount of up to 34 percent when buying a Taipei Metro 72-hour unlimited travel pass. The offer is available to international travelers on international flights bound for Taipei. Within seven days of arrival, travelers can present their boarding pass, passport and proof of flight payment at an EZfly counter in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or Taoyuan MRT Taipei Main Station to obtain the discounted passes, the airline said. One 72-hour pass
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