WEATHER
First cold front arrives
An incoming cold front pushed temperatures in parts of northern Taiwan down into the low single digits early yesterday, and it is expected to bring crisp, sunny weather to much of the nation over the weekend, forecasters said. According to Central Weather Administration (CWA) data, the temperature hit a low of 3.6°C in Yilan County’s mountainous Datong Township (大同) and 8.0°C in Beitou (北投) in northwest Taipei overnight. In low-lying areas, Gongguan Township (公館) in Miaoli County recorded the lowest overnight temperature of any non-mountainous area at 12.7°C, while Shiding Township (石碇) in New Taipei City reported a low of 13.7°C. The arrival of the dry, cold air mass is expected to bring a spell of crisp, sunny weather to much of the country through Sunday morning, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said. During that period, daytime temperatures would climb to about 23°C in the north, and 27°C to 28°C in central and southern areas, but would drop quickly overnight, Wu said. The weather system would likely qualify as the winter’s first “continental cold air mass,” Wu said. The CWA’s seven-day forecast showed temperatures dropping to 11°C to 13°C as far south as Chiayi County tomorrow. As the cold front lifts on Sunday through the early part of next week, the weather would gradually turn rainy in the east, while the western half of the nation would continue to experience clear weather and large day-night temperature gaps, Wu said.
DIPLOMACY
Chiang bullish on forum
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said that the city government is confident about holding the Taipei-Shanghai Twin-City Forum this year. The forum is scheduled to be held on Dec. 17 and the Taipei City Government is reportedly planning to receive a delegation from Shanghai between Dec. 16 and Dec. 18. It has not yet been confirmed whether Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng (龔正) or a vice mayor would be among the delegation. Attending the 50-year anniversary celebration of Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp yesterday, Chiang was asked to comment on the issue. He told reporters that communication is ongoing and the two cities have reached the later stages of arranging this year’s forum. Taipei and Shanghai already have a foundation of mutual exchanges and the cooperation would be beneficial for both cities and both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Chiang said. “We believe that we absolutely must host the forum, and have every confidence that we will be able to do so,” he said. Chiang said an official announcement would be made once the arrangements are finalized.
CRIME
Norwegian man indicted
A Norwegian national has been indicted for possession of marijuana while transiting in Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Tuesday. At a news conference, Chen Po-chuan (陳博全), head of the Second Investigation Team of the bureau’s Criminal Investigation Brigade, said the man in his 30s was arrested in September after using a seven-hour layover to visit Taipei. The Norwegian was arrested at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport early in the morning after visiting a night club in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), Chen said. The arrest was made after aviation police investigators and Taipei Customs officers found 25.5kg of marijuana in the man’s check-in luggage during safety checks at the airport, Chen said. The Category II drug had a market value of more than NT$10 million (US$307,371), Chen added.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
MILITARY EXERCISES: China is expected to conduct more drills in the region after President William Lai’s office announced he would stopover in Hawaii and Guam China is likely to launch military drills in the coming days near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming trip to the Pacific and scheduled US transit as a pretext, regional security officials said. Lai is to begin a visit to Taipei’s three diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and sources told Reuters he was planning stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam in a sensitive trip shortly after the US presidential election. Lai’s office has yet to confirm details of what are officially “stop-overs” in the US, but is expected to do so shortly before he departs, sources
Tasa Meng Corp (采盟), which runs Taiwan Duty Free, could be fined up to NT$1 million (US$30,737) after the owner and employees took center stage in a photograph with government officials and the returning Premier12 baseball champions at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday evening. When Taiwan’s national baseball team arrived home fresh from their World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 championship victory in Tokyo, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) was at the airport with Chinese Professional Baseball League commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) to welcome back the team. However, after Hsiao and Tsai took a photograph with the team, Tasa Meng chairwoman Ku