COVID-19
Cases drop below 10,000
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 7,745 new COVID-19 cases, the first time the daily caseload fell below 10,000 since April 27 last year, when the center reported 8,822 cases. It also reported 44 deaths from the disease. Yesterday’s daily caseload represented a 35.8 percent decline from a week earlier. Taiwan has recorded 10,033,108 COVID-19 cases and 17,908 deaths since the pandemic began in early 2020. The CECC has stopped providing daily updates on the age distribution and health status of the deceased, as well as the number of vaccine doses they received. It is also no longer releasing city and county case numbers daily.
CULTURE
Event marks 228 Incident
The Gongsheng Music Festival is to be held on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei this afternoon, featuring music performances, speeches and exhibitions that focus on the 228 Incident and transitional justice. The Taiwan Gongsheng Youth Association, the event organizer, has invited three family members of 228 Incident victims to share their stories. Elephant Gym (大象體操), Lin Sheng-xiang (林生祥), Panai and other performers are to take the stage from 4pm to 10pm. An exhibition is also scheduled at 3pm to teach about the Incident using oral history materials, photographs and film screenings. Several organizations, including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and the Avanguard Publishing House, are to set up booths where visitors can learn about the Incident, as well as other issues relating to migrant workers, gender and the environment. Access to all of the activities at the festival is free to the public.
AGRICULTURE
Breeder chickens arrive
The nation has taken delivery of 50,000 imported breeder chickens as part of a plan to import 300,000 of the fowl this year to address a nationwide egg shortage, Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全), deputy head of the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Department of Animal Industry said yesterday. By increasing the number of imported egg-laying chickens, low-yield hens can be replaced, he said. The COA is to help egg farmers import egg-laying chickens to provide a sufficient supply and accelerate the replacement of aged hens. The COA said it would also import 5 million shell and liquid eggs by the end of next month to address the egg shortage. The nation imported 260,000 egg-laying chickens last year.
CRIME
Marine arrested in Pingtung
A marine was arrested in Pingtung County on Saturday while allegedly trying to sell a pistol and 20 bullets to an undercover police officer for NT$65,000. The 21-year-old soldier, surnamed Hsu (徐), and a man surnamed Teng (鄧) were arrested after police posing as arms buyers online arranged to meet the suspects at an indoor shrimp fishing restaurant, Fangliao Precinct Deputy Squadron Chief Hsieh Ming-pang (謝明邦) said. Along with the pistol and the bullets, police also seized two mobile phones and a vehicle from Hsu and Teng, Hsieh said. Prosecutors charged the pair with contravening the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例), police said, adding that they were released after posting bail of NT$100,000 each. Following the arrests, the navy said in a statement that the weapon seized from Hsu was not a service weapon, adding that no guns were missing from its armory. Soldiers found guilty of involvement in such activities are subject to substantial punishment along with dismissal, the navy said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
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