WEATHER
Cool and rain for 228
Cooler temperatures and scattered rain showers are forecast for northern and central Taiwan for the 228 Peace Memorial Day weekend, beginning today, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. The arrival of a front last night should bring occasional showers and cooler temperatures to northern and central Taiwan today, he said. Similar conditions are expected tomorrow. From Sunday afternoon through Monday, there should be drier and warmer weather across Taiwan, he said. According to the Central Weather Administration (CWA), temperatures in northern and central Taiwan should remain in the low to mid-20s today and tomorrow, before rising into the upper-20s on Sunday. In the south, temperatures should hover in the upper-20s throughout the three-day holiday weekend, the CWA forecast showed.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
HOLIDAYS
Pingsi readies for festival
Traffic controls are in place for crowds during the Pingsi Sky Lantern Festival at Pingsi Junior High School today and Shihfen Square next Tuesday, according to authorities. As the annual festival is expected to draw large crowds, traffic controls would be enforced on City Route 106 and the Shihfen (十分) section of Provincial Highway 2C from 10am to 11pm on both days, the New Taipei City Transportation Department said. All vehicles would be subject to the restrictions, with exemptions granted to residents with a valid permit and vehicles transporting lanterns, it added. The department advised taking a train to Pingsi or Shihfen stations or using shuttle buses, which depart from Taipei Zoo, Keelung Station and Shuangsi Station, among others. Shuttle services begin at 9am on the event days. One-way fares range from NT$15 to NT$50 depending on the route, while the return trip is free of charge, Lee said.
DIPLOMACY
New ambassador picked
The government has approved the appointment of Amino Chi (紀欽耀), formerly representative to Los Angeles, as its ambassador to Belize, replacing Lily Hsu (徐儷文). Chi, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles since 2023, returns to Belize for the third time in his diplomatic career, after previously serving as first and third secretary at the embassy there, an announcement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. His other overseas postings have included the UK, Malaysia and Miami. Hsu, who has headed the embassy in Belize since 2023, returns to serve at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs. Jason Ma (馬博元), deputy head of mission at Taiwan’s representative office in the EU and Belgium since 2024, fills the representative position in LA.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
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