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.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger today issued a public apology and said it has suspended an employee amid allegations that the staff member discriminated against a Vietnamese customer at its Taipei 101 store. Posting on the social media platform Threads yesterday, a user said that an employee at the store said that “those shoes are very expensive” when her friend, who is a migrant worker from Vietnam, asked for assistance. The employee then ignored her until she asked again, to which she replied: "We don't have a size 37." The post had amassed nearly 26,000 likes and 916 comments as of this
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
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