Chanthu was upgraded to a stronger typhoon yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said, adding that it might not issue a land alert for the typhoon when it comes close to Taiwan on Sunday.
As of 2pm yesterday, Chanthu was centered 1,330km southeast of Olaunpi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 21kph, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph.
The typhoon’s radius had expanded to 120km, the bureau said.
Bureau forecaster Wang Chun-shian (王君賢) said that a sea alert for Typhoon Chanthu could be issued tonight or early tomorrow morning as it is expected to pass through the Bashi Channel.
“As the typhoon’s radius is only 120km, whether a land alert would be issued requires more observation,” Wang said
Taiwan would be under the influence of the typhoon from Saturday to Monday, he said.
Due to ocean conditions, Chanthu could strengthen when it approaches the Bashi Channel, Wang said.
The typhoon’s structure would be slightly weakened by the topography when it moves closer to Luzon Island, he said.
The bureau’s projected path for the typhoon could change depending on the strength of a Pacific high-pressure system, Wang said.
“Chanthu’s path would move slightly north if the high-pressure system weakens. However, if the high-pressure system remains strong, the typhoon’s path could veer to the south. Data we have at the moment show that the high-pressure system might weaken, but we still need to monitor its development,” he said.
Typhoon Chanthu and Tropical Storm Conson were about 1,200km apart and both are moving northwest, Wang said.
Whether they would generate the Fujiwara effect, where two storms orbit each other and lead to more rain, would be better understood when they have moved closer to China, he said.
Between Saturday and Monday next week, thundershowers or showers are forecast for Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula, the bureau said.
Starting tomorrow, rogue waves could appear off the north, east and southwest coasts, and the Hengchun Peninsula, as well as Penghu and Kinmen counties, it said.
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with countries that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
Taiwan would have established formal relations with Argentina long ago if not for China’s interference, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui told US-based Spanish-language online news outlet Infobae in an interview published on Tuesday. Beijing has left behind a string of unfulfilled promises in Latin America, including pledges to build the Grand Nicaragua Canal and airports, docks, ports and industrial zones in El Salvador, he said. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and other countries enjoy pragmatic and improving relations with Taiwan based on cooperation on the economy, culture, technology and science, he said. While Taiwan is “happy to live and let live,”
TASK FORCE DISPATCHED: MOFA said it would assist state employees with repatriation or relocation to other ally nations in the region after Tegucigalpa severed ties The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday ordered Honduras to vacate its embassy in Taiwan within 30 days of Sunday after Tegucigalpa made a similar demand of Taiwan. Taipei on Monday announced that it had cut ties with Honduras after the Central American nation earlier said in a statement that it had established ties with Beijing and ended its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. Following the announcements, Honduran Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Garcia spoke on Honduran television saying that Taiwan would be required to vacate its embassy in the Honduran capital. In Taipei, MOFA later told a news conference that “according
RSS