POLLUTION
‘Red’ air alert issued
The Ministry of Environment issued “red” air quality alerts in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang counties yesterday morning, as northeasterly winds brought to Taiwan particulate matter from China. According to the ministry’s Air Quality Monitoring Network, red levels — which indicate “unhealthy” air conditions — were recorded at monitoring stations in Shimen (石門) and Wanli (萬里) districts in New Taipei City, and Songshan District (松山) in Taipei as of 9am. Taiwan was experiencing widespread “orange” status conditions, or air quality that was “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” in cities and counties of Hsinchu, Miaoli, Yunlin, Chiayi, Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Penghu, the air quality network said. The ministry said it had told local environmental protection bureaus to initiate emergency response measures, such as strengthening pollution controls at large factories and construction sites. A dust storm in Inner Mongolia on Friday had blown particulate matter eastward and northeasterly winds were now carrying those particles to Taiwan, the ministry said.
Screen grab from the Ministry of Environment’s Web site
DIPLOMACY
NZ officials visit Taiwan
New Zealand cross-party parliamentarians are in Taiwan for a visit that began yesterday and is to continue until Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a news release. The delegation is from New Zealand’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan. It is jointly led by New Zealand member of parliament (MP) Stuart Smith — the senior whip of the National Party — and Labour Party MP Tangi Utikere, the ministry said. The delegation also includes MP Jamie Arbuckle — the NZ First Party whip — ACT Party MP Cameron Luxton, Labour Party MP Helen White, and National Party MPs Greg Fleming and Hamish Campbell, it added. Representative to New Zealand Joanne Ou (歐江安) is accompanying the delegation for the trip, the ministry said. The parliamentarians are to meet President William Lai (賴清德) and attend banquets hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), it said.
SOCIETY
Shilin sinkhole filled
A sinkhole that appeared at the intersection of Wenlin Road and Meilun Street in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) on Saturday has been filled, and the affected road has been reopened, the city government said yesterday. The city’s New Construction Office said that inspection and repair work on the sinkhole — which was about 1m long, 1m wide and 20cm deep — began soon after people reported the cave-in on Saturday afternoon. Taipei police said a report was received at about 4pm, with witnesses saying it was continuing to expand. Inspectors excavated the hole to a depth of about 1.6m, where they found that the underlying soil was dry, with no signs of water seepage or leaks. Inspections by various pipeline units also revealed no abnormalities and ground-penetrating radar scans of the surrounding area confirmed their findings, it said, adding that the road was refilled and reopened to traffic before midnight. The authorities would continue to monitor and assess the condition of the road, and further investigate the cause of the sinkhole, it said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS