WEATHER
Cooler weather incoming
Low temperatures would be more prevalent throughout this week when the strongest cold front observed so far this fall arrives today, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. The front today would bring rain to windward locations in northern, northeastern and eastern Taiwan, he said. Atmospheric moisture would be the highest tomorrow due to seasonal northeasterly winds, and is expected to bring sporadic and brief showers to northern, northeastern and eastern parts of the nation, he said. Central and southern Taiwan would be comfortably warm tomorrow, with cooler temperatures in the early morning and the evening. Atmospheric moisture would ease up by Wednesday or Thursday, bringing chances of lighter rain to the north coast off Keelung, the eastern parts of the Taipei area and the northeastern parts of Taiwan, which would make northern Taipei cool to cold, Wu said.
Photo provided by the Central Weather Administration
SOCIETY
Woman bitten by cobra
A 41-year-old woman was bitten by a cobra on the top of her right foot as she exited a public library in Taichung’s Longjing District (龍井) yesterday, police said. She was transported to a hospital, where she received anti-venom and remains under observation, the hospital said. Firefighters and contractors working with the Taichung Agriculture Bureau captured and removed the 30cm-long snake at the scene. Library director Chen Chiu-hua (陳秋華) said that staff fully inspected the building and confirmed that no other snakes were present. Police said the woman was bitten just as she activated the automatic door to exit the library. The snake might have emerged from a drainage channel near the library, police said.
DIPLOMACY
Legislators depart for US
Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), leading a 14-member cross-party delegation, yesterday departed from Taoyuan International Airport on a nine-day trip to the US and Paraguay, Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in South America. They are to begin the trip in Detroit with a Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America event to get a feel for the needs of overseas Taiwanese businesses, Chiang said, adding that the delegation would also meet with US representatives and senators to deepen bilateral ties. The group would then travel to Paraguay, an important ally of the Republic of China since 1957, he said. The trip follows visits to Taiwan over the past year by the presidents of the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies and Senate.
SOCIETY
Fire sends 17 to hospital
A parked motorcycle in Changhua County burst into flames early yesterday morning, sending thick smoke throughout a nearby building and resulting in 17 nearby residents being taken to hospitals, the Changhua County Fire Bureau said. The bureau said it received a report at 3:45am of a parked motorcycle on fire under the sidewalk overhang of a five-story building. Fifteen firetrucks, 11 ambulances and 52 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, it said in a statement. After the fire was extinguished in about an hour, the firefighters sent 17 people suffering from smoke inhalation to local hospitals, Changhua City Mayor Lin Shih-hsien (林世賢) wrote on Facebook. The eldest of the people sent to a hospital was 73 years old, while the youngest was 11 months old, the fire bureau said. It said it was investigating the cause of the fire to determine who was responsible.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
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