DEFENSE
Chopper refit plan dropped
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday told the Legislative Yuan that it is abandoning plans to refit old UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters or obtain new ones, and would instead use the EC-225 Eurocopter or the Sikorsky S-70 for nighttime search-and-rescue operations. Air force Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Huang Chih-wei (黃志偉) said the cancelation stems from outstandingcosts for a refit or purchase. The US gave a NT$4.3 billion (US$148 million) quote for the refitting procedure, far outstripping the ministry’s planned NT$1.96 billion budget, Huang said, adding that purchasing new helicopters would cost NT$18 billion. The navy has set aside classified funding for the purchase of MH-60R Seahawks for anti-submarine purposes, navy Chief of Staff Chiang Cheng-kuo (蔣正國) said. Deputy Minister of National Defense Tu Hung-hui (杜鴻輝) said that the ministry has received and is reviewing the letter of request.
WEATHER
Front to bring cool weather
The arrival of a weather front late tomorrow would send temperatures down by 7°C to 8°C and bring rain to parts of Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said. The weather is expected to remain stable until tomorrow evening, when strengthening northeasterly winds and the arrival of the weather front would send temperatures down in the north and east, and by a slightly smaller margin in other regions, bureau forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said. Conditions would become slightly drier from Friday through the weekend, but would remain on the cool side, Lin said, with temperatures in most parts of the country ranging from 17°C to 23°C. Separately, a pair of tropical storms churning in waters southeast of Taiwan could merge as they move over waters south of Japan, but are unlikely to directly affect Taiwan, he said.
EARTHQUAKE
Quake hits off Hualien
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County at 13:17pm yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake hit at a depth of 30.1km. Its epicenter was about 61.5km south of Hualien County Hall, the bureau’s Seismology Center said. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges its actual effect, was highest in Taitung County, where it reached 3 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale. It had an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the bureau said. On Sunday at 00:43am, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck off southern Taiwan, the bureau said, adding that the quake hit at a depth of 29.7km and its epicenter was 124km south of Taitung County Hall. No damage or injuries were reported.
SPORTS
Brett Su to coach Leopards
Taoyuan Leopards general manager Brett Su (蘇翊傑), a former guard on Taiwan’s national basketball team, has taken over as the Leopards’ acting head coach after Wang Chih-chun (王志群) resigned due to the team’s poor record. The club made the announcement on Sunday, a day after losing 139-121 to the New Taipei CTBC DEA. It was the team’s third consecutive loss and dropped it to 5-17, 12.5 games behind the league-leading Kaohsiung Aquas in the T1 League. Su, who represented Taiwan in numerous FIBA Asia tournaments before retiring from professional basketball in 2019, said Wang played an important role in building the Leopards in the league’s inaugural year and teaching young players key concepts on how to become professional athletes.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition