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 As a result of the university’s investigation, her coaching license was revoked and she was dismissed from NTNU in July.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
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
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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