WEATHER
Hot weather forecast
A cold weather front, which brought periods of heavy rain and cooler weather across much of the nation yesterday, would give way to hot and mostly sunny weather over the coming week, forecasters said yesterday. The Central Weather Administration issued a heavy rain advisory yesterday for Taipei and New Taipei City, mountainous areas of Miaoli County and from Taichung down to Pingtung County in the western half of Taiwan. More than 80mm of rain within 24 hours or more than 40mm in a single hour was expected. As the system moves into the Bashi Channel today, temperatures would rise across Taiwan, with rain giving way to cloudy weather in the south and clouds giving way to sunny conditions in other regions, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. Tomorrow and Wednesday, sunny weather is expected across Taiwan, with temperatures in some areas reaching highs of up to 35°C and overnight temperatures dropping as low as 17°C, Wu said. According to the latest European forecasting models, hot and partly sunny conditions would prevail in Taiwan from Thursday through Tuesday next week, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
TRAFFIC
Pedestrian zone launched
A trial pedestrian zone was launched in Taipei’s Yongkang Street (永康街) area on Saturday, with streets closed to most vehicles on weekends through June 10 to promote a more pedestrian-friendly environment, the Taipei City Government said. The campaign, which limits vehicle access from 2pm to 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays, spans about 250m of Yongkang Street — from its intersection with Xinyi Road (信義路) Sec 2 to Lane 14 — and includes nearby alleys around the popular tourist destination. During the trial period, only vehicles with local access permits or those making deliveries would be allowed through, with police and traffic volunteers onsite to enforce the restrictions, the city government said in a news release. Taipei Department of Transportation Director Hsieh Ming-hung (謝銘鴻) on Saturday said that the first day of the trial went better than expected, adding that the city would continue gathering public feedback and adjust the plan as needed. Local borough warden Lee Ming-ying (李明螢) said the mixed residential-commercial area might not be suitable for regular street closures.
CULTURE
French festival returns
The second edition of the Kaohsiung French Festival would take place in the southern port city on Friday next week to promote French culture with a variety of activities ranging from art and sports to gastronomy. The festival would return to Kaohsiung from Friday next week to May 25, offering an “even richer cultural experience” that builds on the success of last year’s event, which attracted about 110,000 visitors over three days, the French Office in Taipei said. The event would serve as a testament to the deepening cooperation between France and Kaohsiung, it added. The three-day event at the city’s Pier-2 Art Center features outdoor concerts, a market with about 100 French and Taiwanese brands, drawing workshops, petanque games and virtual-reality film screenings, among other activities. For this year’s festival, French illustrator Christopher Boyd would also showcase his work, which highlights the beauty of the French Riviera and the importance of maritime conservation, the French office said. Such visuals for the event are intended to align with this year’s UN Ocean Conference, which is scheduled to take place in the coastal city of Nice, in southern France, from June 9 to 13, it said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
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