WEATHER
Taipei warns of mudslides
The Taipei Disaster Prevention and Rescue Office yesterday urged people to avoid mountainous areas and areas near bodies of water over the weekend. After heavy rains in the past week, the soil on Yangmingshan (陽明山) is saturated, which could cause mudslides, the office said, adding that two small mudslides had been recorded in Nangang District’s (南港) Jioujhuang (舊庄) area. The office said that Tropical Depression 26 is forecast to cross the Bashi Channel, potentially affecting the weather in Taipei today and tomorrow. The office said Taipei City Government workers are inspecting disaster prevention facilities.
POLITICS
Probe of candidate urged
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday filed a request with the Control Yuan to investigate a personal assets declaration submitted by independent Miaoli County commissioner candidate Chung Tung-chin (鍾東錦). Chung, who is Miaoli County Council speaker, had his membership in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) revoked after registering independently last month. The request, filed by DPP lawmakers Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) and Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠), says that Chung might have concealed some of his investments and falsified information in contravention of the Act on Property Declaration by Public Servants (公職人員財產申報法). “Chung holds many properties... How much more has he kept in the dark?” Hung said. DPP officials have presented documents that they say show that Chung owns 159 properties.
POLITICS
Plagiarism claims dismissed
Chung Hua University on Thursday dismissed a plagiarism allegation against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Hsinchu mayoral candidate Lin Ken-jeng (林耕仁). A review committee concluded that Lin did not plagiarize his 2005 master’s thesis, but found “flaws” in the thesis, the university said in a statement. Lin was last month accused by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers of copying the work of a man surnamed Tai (戴), who submitted his thesis at the university in 2004. The committee crossed-checked the two theses, concluding that the “allegation was not substantiated,” it said. However, it found that some subtitles in Lin’s thesis were identical to those in Tai’s thesis, it said. These were “flaws” that could have been avoided if Lin had had a serious attitude toward his academic work, it added. Lin was also accused of plagiarizing his second master’s thesis from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. The university established a committee to review the 2011 thesis early last month and said a result was expected within 120 days.
DIPLOMACY
German delegation to arrive
Members of the German Bundestag’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid are to visit Taiwan from tomorrow to Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. The six-member delegation led by German lawmaker Peter Heidt would be the second group of Bundestag members to visit Taiwan this month, it said. They are scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and ministers without portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) and Huang Chih-ta (黃致達), it said. They would also meet with National Human Rights Commission Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) and visit the National Human Rights Museum, it said.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
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