POLITICS
Chen Pei-yu enters legislature
Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), a promoter of children’s reading, is to fill a legislative seat vacated by Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), who has been appointed to head the Ocean Affairs Council, the Central Election Commission said. Kuan, who was sworn in as a member of new Premier Chen Chien-jen’s (陳建仁) Cabinet on Tuesday, held an at-large seat representing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Chen is to serve the remainder of the legislative term until Jan. 31, next year, the commission said. Control Yuan member Chang Chu-fang (張菊芳) was next in line on the DPP’s legislator-at-large succession list, but Chang decided to keep her position. Her term ends in 2026.
AVIATION
Matsuyama flights resume
A charter flight carrying 179 Japanese tourists arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) from Matsuyama Airport on Saturday evening, marking the resumption of passenger services between the two airports after nearly three years during the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel industry is seeking to benefit from the resumption of international travel, after Taiwan reopened its borders to foreign tourists. The borders had been closed in March 2020 to prevent a domestic outbreak of COVID-19. An annual report on foreign visitors by the Tourism Bureau in 2019 said that Japanese members of group tours on average spent US$303.12 in Taiwan, leading the rankings of foreign travelers. Charter flights between the two airports were launched in 2013, and the operator promoted them based on Songshan and Matsuyama being written with the same Chinese characters. Until the pandemic hiatus, there were also flights between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Matsuyama.
LOTTERY
Fifteen people win NT$10m
Fifteen receipts issued in November or December last year each won the NT$10 million (US$334,448) special prize in the invoice lottery, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday. Three of the 15 receipts with the winning number 28089459 were issued at 7-Eleven convenience stores, including one issued for a NT$39 drink, and another for a NT$13 bill payment charge. Other NT$10 million winners included a person who spent NT$81 on chocolate and other items at a Hi-Life convenience store in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音), the ministry said. FamilyMart convenient stores issued two NT$10 million winning receipts, both for purchases of less than NT$60, in Taichung’s East District (東區) and Taoyuan’s Luzhu District (路竹). Meanwhile, 7-Eleven stores issued two of the 14 receipts with the NT$2 million grand prize-winning number 30660303, it said.
ENVIRONMENT
Hualien commissions e-bikes
Hualien County’s 177 borough and village wardens have received electric bikes for official use as a part of a local drive to contribute to the national goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2025, the Hualien Environmental Protection Bureau said on Saturday. Replacing the wardens’ combustion engine bikes would save 408 tonnes of carbon emissions through the service life of the vehicles, it said. The project would reduce the county’s emissions of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers by 0.22 tonnes and 3.4 tonnes per year, it added. Hualien also provides residents a subsidy of up to NT$22,800 for every electric bike purchased to replace a motorbike in a bid to encourage electric vehicle ownership, it said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to