DIPLOMACY
Bank director to visit
Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) Director for Guatemala Pedro Brolo Vila is to arrive in Taiwan today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Brolo, who served as Guatemala’s top diplomat from 2020 to last year, is to stay until Friday. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) would confer upon Brolo the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon in recognition of his contributions to promoting bilateral ties, the ministry said. Brolo’s visit makes him the highest-ranking CABEI official to visit Taiwan since the bank’s Executive President Dante Mossi’s visit from July 31 to Aug. 5 to mark the one-year anniversary of the opening of CABEI’s Taiwan office. Taiwan became a non-regional member of CABEI in 1992 and holds an 11.09 percent stake in the bank, the highest among the body’s seven non-regional members.
COVID-19
CECC reports 35 deaths
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 34,126 local COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths. The deceased ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s. All but three had chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 14 were not vaccinated against COVID-19. Regionally, New Taipei City reported the highest number of new cases with 7,636, followed by Taipei with 4,219 and Taichung with 3,973. Taoyuan had 3,918 new cases, Kaohsiung 2,555, Tainan 2,040, Changhua County 1,403, Hsinchu County 1,034, Hsinchu City 1,024, Pingtung County 829, and Miaoli County 818. Keelung had 750 cases, Yilan County 727, Hualien County 647, Yunlin County 630, Nantou County 529, Chiayi County 474, Chiayi City 324, Taitung County 278, Penghu County 163, Kinmen County 135 and Lienchiang County 20, the CECC said.
LOTTERY
More prizes to be handed out
The number of winners for the NT$500 (US$16.34) prize in the cloud uniform invoice lottery is to be raised by 500,000 to encourage the use of electronic receipts, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday. A total of 2.15 million NT$500 prize winners would be selected in the second half of this year for the bimonthly lottery, starting with the draw for invoices issued in July and last month. The draw is to be held on Sept. 25. Holders of electronic receipts can win cash prizes in the bimonthly uniform invoice lottery, the ministry said. The number of electronic receipts to be issued in the second half of the year for the NT$1 million, NT$2,000 and NT$800 prizes in the lottery would remain unchanged at 30, 16,000 and 100,000 respectively, it said.
CRIME
Murder suspect sought
Tainan police on Saturday said they are searching for a man who is suspected of stabbing a Vietnamese migrant worker to death following an altercation at a foreign workers’ dormitory in Annan District (安南). The victim, identified by his last name, Phan, was pronounced dead at a local hospital in the early hours of Saturday after efforts to resuscitate him failed, police said. Phan allegedly got into a fight with another migrant worker at the dormitory, they said. The suspect had fled the scene by the time officers arrived, police said, adding that they are searching for the suspect. A preliminary forensic examination found multiple stab wounds on the victim’s body, the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office said.
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
Traffic controls are to be in place in Taipei starting tonight, police said, as rallies supporting recall efforts targeting the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as well as a rally organized by the KMT opposing the recall campaigns are to take place tomorrow. Traffic controls are to be in place on City Hall Road starting from 10pm tonight and on Jinan Road Section 1 starting from 8am tomorrow, police said. Recall campaign groups in Taipei and New Taipei advocating for the recall of KMT legislators, along with the Safeguard Taiwan, Anti-Communist Alliance (反共護台聯盟), have previously announced plans for motorcycle parades and public
A tropical depression near the northwestern Philippines is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Danas by early tomorrow, becoming the fourth tropical storm of the season, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 8am today, the system was located approximately 370 kilometers southwest of Taiwan's southern tip, Cape Eluanbi, and has developed a more organized structure, forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The storm is currently moving slowly toward the Taiwan Strait in an east-northeast direction and may trigger a sea warning if it reaches tropical storm strength tomorrow morning. The system is expected to shift direction later tomorrow toward the north
‘ON THE RIGHT TRACK’: US analysts praised the ‘less scripted’ drills as strengthening defenses and resilience, as confusion and spontaneity are common in actual warfare This month’s annual Han Kuang military exercises are to feature six types of “gray zone” tactics used by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with the aim of weakening their effectiveness, Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) told the military yesterday. The 41st Han Kuang drills, scheduled from Wednesday next week through July 18, would simulate a Chinese blockade and invasion, with President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday saying that Taiwan is already in a “war without gun smoke.” In a speech broadcast to officers and soldiers yesterday, Mei said that the six types of harassment are: legal warfare,
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