SOCIETY
Book of condolence to open
The British Office Taipei yesterday said it would open a book of condolence for Taiwanese who wish to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 96. The book would be open to the public from 1pm to 4pm from today to Friday at the office, which is on the 26th floor of President International Tower at No. 9-11, Song Gao Road, it said. An online book of condolence has also been established at the royal family’s official Web site (https://www.royal.uk/send-message-condolence) for those who wish to pay their respects virtually, it added.
HEALTH
Dengue cases reported
Four local cases of dengue fever were confirmed in Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen District (前鎮) on Sunday, bringing the number of domestically transmitted cases of the mosquito-borne illness to nine this year, the Centers for Disease Control said. The cases — three males and one female, ranging in age from under 10 to older than 70 — were discovered during community testing in a neighborhood where the initial case was reported on Wednesday, the centers said. As rain has been forecast for this week, the centers urged people to be especially vigilant about cleaning up pools of stagnant water where mosquitoes can lay eggs. Seven of the local dengue cases confirmed so far this year have been reported in Kaohsiung, while two have been reported in Taichung. Thirty-one imported cases have been reported so far this year, including 18 from Vietnam, the centers said.
TOURISM
Couple promotes Taiwan
South Korean celebrity couple Kim Jae-woo and Cho Yu-ri have been selected as this year’s spokespeople to promote Taiwan in their country, the Tourism Bureau said. Kim has a positive image thanks to his public displays of affection for his wife, and his love of family life and travel, the bureau said. The couple are adored by South Koreans in their 20s and 30s, and could help motivate other young couples to travel to Taiwan, it said. The couple has in collaboration with the bureau produced six 15-second promotion videos on YouTube, featuring Taiwan’s cuisine, hot springs, city life, culture, natural scenery and interactive activities, the bureau said. Taiwan yesterday reinstated visa-free entry for travelers from its 14 diplomatic allies, as well as the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand as part of a “gradual reopening” policy that is likely to soon extend to visitors from other countries, the Central Epidemic Command Center said.
SOCIETY
Awareness project launched
The Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan has launched a campaign featuring celebrities to inform the public on health issues affecting pure-bred dogs. The campaign was launched to mark Dog Day on Friday. Pure breeds have become popular in Taiwan due to promotions by the pet industry, but the physical features of some breeds are not the result of natural evolution, but rather selective breeding and inbreeding, it said. The features that define some breeds are actually physical deformities, the society said, giving as examples pugs and corgis, whose internal organs are constricted due to their small size. Such physical features can result in respiratory issues such as the brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome observed in short-snouted breeds, including Shih Tzus as well as English and French bulldogs, it said.
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
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