WHOLESALE
Tissue costs spike
Wholesale prices for popular tissue brands Mayflower, Delight and Tender would rise 8 percent next year amid a reported 40 percent-plus spike in raw material costs. The brands’ producer, Yuen Foong Yu Consumer Products Co, announced plans for the price hike yesterday, with the increase set to take effect after the Lunar New Year Holiday. The prices of pulp, packaging and power, which account for the bulk of its production costs, had increased more than 40 percent this year, with some nearly doubling, the company said. Hypermarkets Pxmart and Carrefour said that there are no plans at this time to pass the wholesale price increase on to consumers.
WILDLIFE
Cane toads face restrictions
Owners of cane toads are to face restrictions on breeding, sale and display of the amphibians, which are to be listed as a foreign invasive species, the Forestry Bureau said on Thursday. The cane toad, which is native to the Americas, is a foreign species that poses a risk to the local environment, the safety of other animals and the public, the bureau said, adding that restrictions are to take effect in the next 60 days and owners must register their cane toads with local authorities in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法). Failure to do so could result in a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$50,000, it said. Owners who want to give up their cane toads should take them to a local animal shelter or pass them to authorities for disposal, the bureau said, warning that deserting an animal could lead to fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
WEATHER
Christmas to bring cold
A cold air mass is set to push temperatures downward across Taiwan, with snow likely above 3,000m on Monday, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Temperatures are to drop in northern areas as a cold air mass arrives on Christmas Day today, before dropping in other parts of the country from tomorrow to Tuesday, the bureau said, adding that temperatures could dip as low as 12°C. Coastal areas near Keelung, mountainous areas in and around Taipei and in northeastern Taiwan might have heavy rain from today to Monday, it added. The combination of low temperatures and rain would make it feel particularly cold, the bureau said. However, it also forecast that the cold air mass would become weaker from Tuesday morning, leading to warmer weather.
CRIME
Men charged over beating
Local prosecutors yesterday charged three men accused of beating a university student in Taichung last month with attempted murder and intentionally causing bodily harm. Lee Wei-lin (李韋霖), 25, Chang Tun-liang (張敦量), 23, and Chen Chin-hao (陳勁豪), 19, were indicted over the Nov. 7 incident, which took place after a vehicle driven by an 18-year-old university student surnamed Sung (宋) clipped a Maserati while changing lanes at the intersection of Taiwan Boulevard and Henan Road, a Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office release said. Dashboard camera footage shows Lee — the driver of the Maserati — and two passengers, Chen and Chang, force Sung out of his car before assaulting him with a metal stick, despite Sung repeatedly apologizing after being pushed to the ground, prosecutors said, adding that the footage also showed Chang kicking Sung multiple times in the head as he lay on the ground. Sung was rendered unconscious and spent nearly three weeks in hospital before being discharged on Nov. 25.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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