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.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
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