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.
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
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
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
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