WEATHER
More cold on New Year’s
The cold air mass that has been affecting Taiwan weakened yesterday, allowing temperatures to rebound, but another wave of cold air is forecast to move in on New Year’s Day, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Daytime highs reached 19°C to 22°C in northern Taiwan and Yilan County, and about 23°C to 25°C in central and southern Taiwan, as well as in Hualien and Taitung counties. Temperatures in the north and northeast would continue to climb today, but cloudy skies are forecast in most areas, with brief showers possible along the northern coast and in northeastern Taiwan, the CWA said. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said seasonal northeasterly winds are expected to strengthen slightly tomorrow and on Wednesday. Another cold air mass is expected to begin moving in on New Year’s Day, and bring rain to northern and eastern Taiwan, he added. On Friday and Saturday, the system could reach “continental cold air mass” strength and even be classified as a “strong” continental cold air mass, Wu said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
SOCIETY
Janitor found dead in school
A janitor died early yesterday, after he was found collapsed near a ladder at an elementary school in New Taipei City’s Wugu District (五股) following a strong earthquake that shook much of Taiwan on Saturday. The city’s Luzhou Precinct said the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck shortly after 11pm damaged pipes at the school, resulting in water leaks inside the building. The 62-year-old school maintenance worker, surnamed Lin (林), was found at about 2:45am on the floor of a restroom, beside a metal ladder, police said. Firefighters were called and they transported the man to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Surveillance footage showed Lin going to the school basement to retrieve a ladder and going to the restroom to check the water pipes, they said. The case has been referred to prosecutors, who are to investigate the cause of death, they added.
SOCIETY
Art piece mishap kills man
A 19-year-old man on Saturday died after a 200kg art piece toppled over and hit him on the head at a warehouse in New Taipei City’s Wugu District (五股), police said. The city’s Luzhou Precinct said the victim, surnamed Yu (余), was helping move the large art piece — 1.7m tall and 60cm wide — when it fell for unknown reasons and struck him on the head. Police and firefighters received the report at about noon and found Yu with no vital signs when they arrived. He was rushed to Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3pm. Police said the case would be referred to prosecutors and labor authorities for further investigation.
AVIAN FLU
Hens culled in Changhua
Changhua County authorities on Saturday said it culled 27,347 laying hens at a local poultry farm, after dead hens tested positive for the H5N1 virus on Thursday. The county’s Animal Disease Control Center said it has completed culling, clearing and disinfection operations at the Fangyuan Township (芳苑) farm. The case was reported by the farm itself, it added. Failure to report infections are punishable by a fine of between NT$50,000 and NT$1 million (US$1,590 to US$31,791), it said. Cold weather and peak migratory bird season are increasing the risk of avian flu infection, the center said, urging poultry farms to enhance warmth, ventilation, biosecurity and bird-proofing measures.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
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