WEATHER
Heavy rain forecast
Two fronts are forecast to sweep across the nation this week, bringing scattered showers and potentially heavy rainfall, particularly in northern and central Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Tuesday. The first front, forecast to approach last night, would bring short bursts of thunderstorms and a chance of localized heavy rain, especially in central and northern Taiwan, the CWA said. The rain might ease tomorrow before another front introduces more widespread rainfall on Saturday, it said.
SOCIETY
Island to get traffic light
Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球), a popular vacation destination off Pingtung County, would get its first traffic light in August, the county government said on Tuesday. The traffic light is to be installed at the intersection of Fusing and Siangpu roads near Cyuande Elementary School in accordance with a National Bureau of Land Management plan to improve road safety around schools, said Chen Pin-chen (陳品蓁), an official in the traffic division of the county’s police bureau. Views about the traffic light were mixed on the island. In a Facebook group titled “Siaoliuciou Alliance,” some welcomed the addition, saying it would make the area safer for people and animals. However, another post said one traffic light would eventually lead to more, and would eventually “urbanize” the island and destroy its rustic charm.
DIPLOMACY
Romanian project starts
A government-funded project to support start-ups in Romania was officially launched on Tuesday in Bucharest, with a top envoy saying he hoped it would promote closer cooperation between the two nations. Representative to Slovakia Lee Nan-yang (李南陽) attended the ceremony to mark the launch of the Star Venture Program in the Romanian capital, Taiwan’s office in Slovakia, which also covers Romania, said in a statement. The program in Romania is being run by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a 500,000 euro (US$552,135) donation from the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, the office said. On Tuesday, 10 start-ups in electric vehicle rentals, robot learning, energy and education were shortlisted to pitch their business ideas at an in-person event in Bucharest. The EBRD is expected to announce the finalists in two to three weeks. They would be selected to join the intensive 18-month program, which includes a range of support to help them succeed in the competitive global market, including help from Garage+ accelerator programs in Taiwan, Lee said.
CRIME
Stolen tortoises recovered
Police in Pingtung County have recovered eight of 30 stolen African spurred tortoises and continue to search for the remaining 22, a police officer said on Tuesday. Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of theft after police received a report on Saturday last week that 30 of the tortoises raised in a breeding facility in Changjhih Township (長治) had been stolen, with each animal weighing 20kg to 30kg, said Chang Ching-hsiung (張清雄), head of a local police station. Police tracked down eight suspects and questioned them on Monday. Eight of the 30 tortoises were subsequently found at the home of one of the suspects, a 20-year-old man surnamed Liu (劉), Chang said. The case has been referred to the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation, he added.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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