WEATHER
Cold and rain forecast
A cold wave over the weekend is to bring temperatures down to 23oC to 24oC in northern Taiwan, while lows are expected to dip to 21oC to 23oC, the Central Weather Administration said on Thursday. The lowest temperatures during this wave of northeasterly winds are expected to occur on Monday and Tuesday next week, with lows of 19oC to 20oC and highs of 22oC to 23oC forecast in northern Taiwan, while the mercury would be 1 to 2 degrees lower in northern coastal areas, agency forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said. The approaching northeasterly winds are unlikely to significantly affect southern Taiwan, where highs are predicted to hit 30oC, Huang said. In terms of precipitation, areas north of Taoyuan, Hualien and Taitung are forecast to see intermittent rain this weekend, while the northern coast of Keelung and northeastern regions would see heavy rain, Huang said. On Monday and Tuesday, with reduced moisture, only areas north of Taoyuan and eastern Taiwan would still see occasional rainfall. As the northeasterly winds wane, the weather would become relatively stable on Wednesday and Thursday next week, with highs of 26oC to 27oC forecast in northern areas. However, more northeasterly winds are forecast to arrive on Friday next week, bringing cooler temperatures and rain to northern Taiwan, Huang said.
MILITARY
Chinese rocket detected
A Chinese rocket carrying a satellite flew over the nation on Thursday night, but was traveling on a trajectory above the atmosphere, the Ministry of National Defense said. The rocket, detected at 7:23pm, was identified as a Long March rocket on a mission to send a satellite into orbit and was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, the ministry said in a statement. The armed forces were on high alert and took appropriate measures to ensure air safety, it said. A similar incident was reported on Oct. 5, when the ministry detected a Long March rocket carrying a satellite into orbit outside the atmosphere that was passing over the nation’s air defense identification zone.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Estonia playing with fire: MP
A senior Estonian lawmaker warned against the Baltic nation’s plan to allow Taiwan to open an office in the country, saying the move risks provoking China and undermining regional security. The comments reveal a divide in Estonia’s ruling party over how much the Baltic nation should risk its ties with Beijing with closer relations with Taiwan. Toomas Kivimagi, a lawmaker in Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ Reform Party and deputy speaker of the Estonian parliament, took issue with the decision to host the non-diplomatic office. He said that during his meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Estonia Guo Xiaomei (郭曉梅) earlier in the week, she told him that she might leave the country should Taiwan open an office. “There’s no point in playing with fire,” Kivimagi said in an interview. “It’s not smart for us to ruin relations with China. I don’t want to escalate the situation.” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) on Wednesday said that China opposes any official exchanges with Taiwan “in any form.” The Estonian government last week gave its backing for a potential office under the name Taipei, emphasizing that it would not engage politically with Taiwan and that it continues to support the “one China” policy. The decision came ahead of a visit by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) to the region this week.
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