WEATHER
Heavy rain expected
People in northern and eastern Taiwan should be on alert for potential disasters caused by significant rainfall through Wednesday, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. Driven by seasonal northeasterly winds and Tropical Storm Fengshen south of Taiwan, the heavy rain is likely to hit northern mountainous regions and northeastern Taiwan the hardest, while residents in Hualien and Taitung counties should also remain on alert, Wu said. As of 2pm yesterday, Fengshen was about 1,130km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving northwest at 27km per hour toward China’s Hainan Island, and was not expected to directly affect Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Daytime highs yesterday ranged between 33°C and 35°C in western Taiwan, and 31°C to 32°C in eastern Taiwan, the CWA said. Temperatures in northern Taiwan would gradually decline during the week through Wednesday, dropping to about 20°C, Wu said. Meanwhile, CWA said a magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck off the east coast at 10:04am yesterday. The hypocenter of the temblor was below the sea, about 56.9km east-northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 14.3km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
CRIME
Newborn’s body found
The body of a newborn baby was found in a feed sack outside a home in Chiayi County yesterday, police said, adding that they are searching for the mother. The body was retrieved in the morning after a resident in the county’s Lioujiao Township (六腳) reported finding it in an animal feed sack near their family home, police said. The baby showed no visible signs of external injury and appeared to be full-term, prosecutors said. An autopsy is required to determine the cause of death and whether the baby had been born alive, they said. Meanwhile, a special team has been assembled to find the baby’s mother, police said. The main suspect is an Indonesian woman who was employed by the family of the person who found the body, police said. The person told the police that their mother thought the woman, who was the household’s caregiver, appeared to be pregnant, and that she had not been seen since earlier yesterday, police said. However, neighbors said that the caregiver showed no obvious signs of pregnancy, police said.
LAW
Evidence rules take effect
Police must now obtain approval from prosecutors before demanding that suspects provide a urine sample in non-urgent cases, following amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法). The amendments, which passed the Legislative Yuan on Friday, say that police are only allowed to collect a non-invasive urine sample over a suspect’s objections in cases in which immediate collection is needed to preserve evidence. In such instances, police must still seek prosecutors’ approval within 24 hours. If prosecutors decide the collection was not justified, the samples and test results are to be destroyed within three days. The amended law also stipulates that police inform suspects of the prosecutor’s approval, which is required for each sample provided. Meanwhile, those who are forced to provide a urine sample over their objections can apply for a court order within 10 days asking for the sample and test result to be destroyed. According to the law revision, the court may not dismiss the petition on the grounds that the collection has already been completed.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
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