WEATHER
Temperatures to drop
A cold air mass is forecast to bring rain to parts of northern and eastern Taiwan starting tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Lows last night to early this morning were expected to be 14°C to 15°C in northern Taiwan and 15°C to 17°C in central and southern Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said. Daytime highs today would be 17°C to 18°C in the north and 20°C to 25°C in central and southern Taiwan, Tseng said. The effects of the cold air mass would continue until Tuesday, when sunny to cloudy skies and highs of more than 20°C would return across the nation, he said. Lows from tonight to Tuesday would be 13°C to 14°C, with Monday and early Tuesday morning expected to be the coldest, he said. Daytime highs would be 14°C to 16°C in northern Taiwan and 18°C to 19°C in eastern Taiwan. Central and southern regions would still experience daytime temperatures of more than 20°C, the CWA said.
Photo: CNA
EPIDEMIOLOGY
People urged to get jab
More than 40 percent of 100,000 government-funded flu vaccine doses were administered on the first day of distribution, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Amid high demand, the CDC urged eligible people, particularly those in high-risk groups, to get vaccinated promptly, as the flu season is expected to continue until the end of next month, despite a decline in cases last week. Those advised to receive the vaccine include people aged 65 or older, infants older than six months, preschool children and people with chronic conditions, the CDC said. The CDC rolled out the additional doses on Thursday after the flu-related death of actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), 48, on Feb. 2, which fueled a surge in vaccination rates. At its peak, more than 70,000 government-funded flu shots were administered in a single day, CDC data showed. Since the flu season began on Oct. 1 last year, 917 severe cases had been reported as of Monday, with people aged 65 or older accounting for 56 percent. The death toll was 181, the data showed.
DIPLOMACY
Czechia liberalizes permits
Taiwanese would be allowed to work in the Czech Republic without a work permit or employment card beginning early next month, Czech Minister of the Environment Petr Hladik said on Wednesday. Taiwan would join Prague’s list of non-EU states whose citizens can freely enter the Czech Republic’s labor market, Hladik said, although he did not specify an exact date. Taiwan had initially been set to join the list last year, but could only be added after Prague changed the law to recognize it as an “independent judicial jurisdiction.”
ZOOLOGY
Sound files released
The Hualien Formosa Association has uploaded 51 sound files of cetacean species from the waters off Hualien County onto an open-source research archive, association chairman Liao Hung-chi (廖鴻基) said on Sunday, which was International World Whale Day. The association has 107 sound files recorded during voyages that totaled more than two years at sea, Liao said. Fifty-one of the 107 audio files have been uploaded to Figshare, an open-access archive, the association said. All of the files on the archive include analyses and the date they were recorded for international researchers to use or cite, it added.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
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