WEATHER
Rainy days ahead
The Central Weather Administration forecast that northern Taiwan would see rain for most of next week. Tropical Storm Kalmaegi is not expected to directly affect Taiwan, but seasonal northeasterly winds brought intermittent rain to northern and eastern Taiwan, the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) and central mountainous areas yesterday, it said. Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) yesterday forecast that the north coast, and Yilan and Hualien counties might see sporadic showers today, while other regions would be mostly cloudy to sunny. Chances of rain would increase tonight and tomorrow throughout the north, Wu said. Northeasterly winds are forecast to affect Taiwan from Wednesday to Saturday, bringing rain to the north and east, while temperatures would drop slightly in the north before rising again from Thursday, he said.
SOCIETY
Ex-coach’s doctorate revoked
National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) has revoked the doctorate of former soccer team coach Chou Tai-ying (周台英) due to research misconduct, the university said. Chou, a former soccer star, was found earlier this year to have coerced students into providing blood samples for research, threatening them with the loss of required credits and isolation. As a result of the university’s investigation, her coaching license was revoked and she was dismissed from NTNU in July. The Ministry of Education also requested an investigation into Chou’s doctoral thesis for alleged contraventions of the Human Subjects Research Act (人體研究法). NTNU on Saturday said that it had reviewed the thesis and found that although the study did not involve invasive methods, its subjects included 19-year-old students without required consent forms, constituting research misconduct. After a review by a committee on academic ethics, NTNU decided to revoke Chou’s degree.
SOCIETY
Taichung to incinerate food
The Taichung City Environmental Protection Bureau yesterday said food waste in the city would be incinerated, while the disposal of kitchen waste in landfills would be gradually phased out from today. As feeding processed food waste to pigs has been banned after an African swine fever outbreak was confirmed at a pig farm in the city’s Wuci District (梧棲) on Oct. 22, there have been questions about how the city would dispose of the waste. Taichung Deputy Mayor Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) said the city originally planned to dispose of food waste at 12 landfill sites, but as the method has been questioned, it only opened three sites for food waste, and listed two additional incineration plants as disposal methods.
ENTERTAINMENT
ROC stalwart actor dies
Veteran actor Stanley Fung (馮淬帆) on Friday died at the age of 81, according to New Taipei City Councilwoman Tsai Shu-chun (蔡淑君). Tsai, a friend of Fung, on Saturday made the announcement on Facebook on behalf of the late actor, who lived alone in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) councilwoman’s constituency in Linkou District (林口). Born in 1944 in China’s Guangdong Province, Fung was unapologetically outspoken about his identity after acquiring Republic of China (ROC) citizenship in 1986. He once said his love for the ROC was what drove him to move from Hong Kong, where he lived from the age of 6, to Taiwan, as he believed the ROC represented his Chinese identity. The entertainment industry veteran appeared on screens large and small in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
Staff writer, with CNA
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
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