WEATHER
Storm approaching
A tropical depression over the western Pacific Ocean developed into the fifth tropical storm of the season yesterday morning, said the Central Weather Bureau (CWB). As of 8pm yesterday, the center of the storm, named Doksuri, was 1,400km southeast of Taiwan and moving west-nothwest at 8km per hour, CWB data showed. Doksuri could be moving closer to Taiwan, but its path would only become clear tomorrow or on Monday, the bureau said. CWB forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) said that Doksuri would be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, so there is a chance a sea warning might be issued as early as Monday. Citing the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ model, meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said it is likely that Doksuri would pass through Taiwan.
POLITICS
MOFA donation to Ukraine
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced on Wednesday that it has pledged a donation of US$2.5 million toward the construction of a bridge in the war-torn Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The bridge is to connect Obolonksy Island, a small island in central Kyiv, with the city, MOFA said in a press release. The donation is to be given to a charitable fund, Future Kyiv, the organization designated by the Kyiv government, based on a memorandum of understanding signed between Bob Chen (陳龍錦), Taiwan’s Representative to Poland, and Mariia Bochenkova, the head of the fund, on Wednesday. Taiwan and Ukraine share the same values of freedom, democracy and human rights, with both countries on the front line of defending against authoritarian expansion, the release said. Taiwan would continue to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine as its people fight against Russian aggression, it said.
CRIME
Drunk driver charged
A man was indicted by Taipei prosecutors yesterday for killing a flight attendant in Taipei while driving drunk in November last year. The man surnamed Hsiang (向) was tested for alcohol, and a breath test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.58mg per liter, which was above the legal threshold of 0.25mg per liter, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. The office indicted Hsiang for repeated drunk driving within 10 years of a previous offense that resulted in the death of another person. The 53-year-old driver was convicted of drunk driving twice previously in two separate cases and he was sentenced to four months in jail for each case in 2019, the prosecutors’ office said.
Hsiang also had his driver’s license revoked in 2019.
CULTURE
Taichung dance performance
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre is to hold a free outdoor performance of 13 Tongues in front of Taichung City Hall tonight, the first open-air performance it has held in the city in 10 years. The free performance is to start at 7:30pm. The last time Cloud Gate gave an open-air performance was when the troupe celebrated its 40th anniversary with Lin’s Rice, said Cloud Gate artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung (鄭宗龍). Everyone is welcomed to see 13 Tongues, a 2016 piece by Cheng that incorporates many elements of local life in Taiwan, such as folk songs and religious rituals, the choreographer said. 13 Tongues has toured Europe and the United States, and is to be performed in France and Spain later this year, Cloud Gate said.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
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