DIPLOMACY
Tuvalu minister lands today
Tuvaluan Minister of Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs Simon Kofe is to arrive in Taiwan today for a six-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Kofe would witness the signing of three bilateral deals between Taiwan and Tuvalu during his stay, the ministry said. The agreements would pave the way for cooperation between the two sides in the areas of diplomat training, technical exchanges and mutual legal assistance, the ministry said. In addition to meeting with government officials, Kofe would also meet with representatives of Taiwanese enterprises developing submarine cables and other communication networks, it said. Kofe is hoping to learn from Taiwan’s experience, as his country is working to improve its digital infrastructure, the ministry said. Tuvalu is an important Pacific ally of Taiwan, and the two countries have developed close partnerships in the areas of information technology, agriculture, fisheries, clean energy and public health, it added. Tuvalu established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979.
FOOD SAFETY
More truffles fail testing
Another shipment of fresh truffles imported from Europe recently failed a customs inspection as it was found to contain excessive levels of a heavy metal, the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday. The agency said that 3.5kg of truffles imported by Taipei-based iTaste International Co from Spain were destroyed after they failed safety tests. The fungus was found to contain cadmium at a concentration of 3 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), compared with the legal limit of 2mg/kg, it said, adding that it was the seventh shipment of truffles iTaste has imported since last year that were found to be substandard. Taiwan imported 1,844kg of fresh truffles in 321 batches from different places of origin last year, of which 29kg from nine shipments was substandard, the agency said. iTaste had imported 23kg from six of the nine batches: a 2kg shipment from France, a 4kg shipment from Bulgaria and four shipments from Italy that totaled 17kg, it said. As a result, the agency said it has raised the inspection rate to 100 percent for all iTaste truffles imported from Italy and has tightened similar checks on iTaste’s truffles from other countries.
ECOLOGY
Fishers paid to pause
The Tainan Agricultural Bureau is offering fishers subsidies for voluntarily pausing their fishing operations in a bid to conserve fisheries in the seas near Taiwan and cut carbon emissions. From 2003, the Fisheries Agency has decreased ship fuel subsidies while rewarding fishers for voluntarily pausing their operations to alleviate the ecological pressures on the fish habitats off Taiwan proper, the bureau said. More than 900 Tainan-based fishing boats participated in the voluntary pause every year after 2018, saving 4,300 kiloliters of fuel and 11,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, it said. Eligible fishers include operators of boats that have gone to the sea at least 90 times, logged at least 270 operating hours and refrained from fishing for at least 120 days since Sept. 1 last year, it said, adding that subsidies would be offered until Aug. 31. The subsidies do not apply to live fish transports, largehead hairtail transports, fishing boats used for tourism and boats used for harvesting in exclusive fishing right fisheries, it said. Any eligible fishing boat, sampan or raft that has paused operations would receive at least NT$20,000, with operators of bigger vessels receiving more, 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