SOCIETY
Japan makes form change
Japan yesterday began allowing people to write “Taiwan” in the nationality field on household registration forms. The change lets Taiwanese who live in Japan change their registration from “China” to “Taiwan.” To register a household in Japan, one must be a Japanese citizen. Foreign spouses of Japanese citizens and foreign-born people who obtain Japanese citizenship have their nationality recorded in the household registry. The Ministry of the Interior said that about 800 to 1,000 Taiwanese marry Japanese annually. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that through correct descriptions in family registers, the rights and interests of Taiwanese in Japan would be further protected.
WEATHER
Cool weather to continue
Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed that at 8:30am yesterday, the temperature in Taipei dropped to 17.3°C, the second-lowest on record for late May since 2000. The cooler temperatures were brought by seasonal winds, the CWA said, adding that the wet and cool weather would last until late today. Some coastal areas might experience winds of 39kph, with gusts of 62kph until tonight, it said. By today, the rain is expected to ease in most areas except in Keelung, where occasional showers are likely to persist, the CWA said. National Central University Department of Atmospheric Sciences adjunct associate professor Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that another weather front is expected to approach Taiwan late tomorrow and would bring more rain. Most parts of the nation would see significant rainfall on Thursday, with some areas experiencing torrential rain, lightning and high winds, Wu said.
CULTURE
Museum to raise prices
The National Museum of Natural Science yesterday said it would raise some of its ticket prices for the first time since it opened in 1986. Starting on July 1, an adult ticket would cost NT$120, up from NT$100, while the price for the museum’s Dinosaur Card membership would rise from NT$300 to NT$360, the museum said. Tickets would cost NT$60 for children aged six to 12 and student groups of 20 or more, and for seniors aged 65 and older during holidays, it said. Tickets for students older than 12 and groups of more than 20 would cost NT$90, it added. Museum Director Huang Wen-san (黃文山) said that recent facility upgrades, made a price increase necessary. Discounted ticket prices are to remain unchanged, as would admission fees for the Botanical Garden, the Science Center, the Space Theater, the 3D Theater, the 921 Earthquake Museum, the Chelungpu Fault Preservation Park and the Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park.
SOCIETY
Worker dies in construction accident
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) yesterday confirmed that a worker died after an accident at its under-construction packaging plant in Chiayi County. TSMC said it had halted all construction at the plant. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it received a report that a transformer box had fallen and struck a worker after the forklift operator transporting the box failed to notice a drop in the ground. TSMC said onsite personnel administered first aid immediately and an ambulance took the worker to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The company said it would cooperate with authorities in their investigation into the accident and assist the worker’s contractor with the aftermath of his death.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
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