WEATHER
Rainy days forecast
The weather is forecast to turn wet ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Showers and thunderstorms are forecast today for most parts of the nation, as a rain-bearing weather front makes its way from the northwest to the south, and seasonal northeasterly winds are expected to drive temperatures down in the evening, the CWA said. Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said the weather front could cause significant rainfall across the nation, as well as lightning and high winds today. Tomorrow morning, the first day of the extended holiday, only southern Taiwan would experience local showers in the morning as the weather front moves over the Bashi Channel, Wu said. Sunny and warmer weather is expected across the nation on Saturday, Wu said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Liberty Times
CRIME
Man charged with murders
Kaohsiung prosecutors yesterday sought the death penalty for a man accused of killing and dismembering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), 73, was indicted on charges of murder, corpse abandonment and mutilation, theft, and unlawful appropriation of property. Prosecutors said the method, circumstances and number of victims met the criteria for the most serious premeditated crimes under Constitutional Court guidelines. From November last year to February, Chang is suspected of strangling three women, dismembering their bodies and dumping the remains in a river channel in Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen District (前鎮), prosecutors said. Since his arrest in early February, Chang has denied the crimes and refused to explain his motives, prosecutors said.
SOCIETY
New holidays approved
Three new holidays are to be observed this year, after the Presidential Office yesterday promulgated the new national holidays passed by the legislature earlier this month. The opposition-controlled legislature on May 9 passed a bill adding four new national holidays and making Labor Day on May 1 a holiday across sectors. The newly added holidays are Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou on Oct. 25, Constitution Day on Dec. 25 and “Little New Year,” the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve. The bill mandated that the holidays be implemented immediately upon its announcement. The legislation also changes the current one-day holiday for indigenous peoples’ annual ceremonies to a three-day holiday, with the indigenous communities selecting the dates.
SOCIETY
Man banned from donating
A Taiwanese who consumed cannabis gummies in Thailand has been permanently barred from donating blood in the nation, as cannabis is a Category 2 narcotic, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday. The person recently shared their experience on social media, saying they tried cannabis gummies out of curiosity while visiting Thailand last year and did not expect it would result in a permanent blood donation ban, a local newspaper reported on Monday. Asked how the blood donation center found out about the cannabis use, the person wrote that donors are asked about their medical history and any past narcotic use before giving blood, to which they “answered honestly,” the report said. FDA Deputy Director-General Wang Der-yuan (王德原) on Tuesday said that the decision was based on the nation’s regulations, which stipulate that people with a history of narcotic use are permanently barred from donating blood.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
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