WEATHER
Wind system brings cool
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
A strengthening northeasterly wind system is to bring cooler weather to northern and northeastern Taiwan starting today, with another surge expected later in the week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Brief showers are forecast for the Keelung north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City, eastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula, with isolated rain also possible in Taoyuan. Elsewhere, skies are forecast to remain partly cloudy to sunny, it said. The weather is expected to improve as winds weaken on Wednesday and Thursday, it said. Another northeasterly wind system is forecast to arrive on Friday and linger through Saturday, bringing another round of cooler weather to northern and northeastern Taiwan, it said.
ECONOMY
Teahouse raises prices
Taichung-based teahouse chain Chun Shui Tang (春水堂) yesterday said that it had raised prices on more than 80 percent of its menu items by an average of 12 percent, citing rising operating, ingredient and labor costs. The price increases took effect yesterday, the company said, adding that actual prices for individual items are listed at its stores and on its official Web site. Using prices in northern Taiwan as an example, Chun Shui Tang said that a medium-sized bubble tea would cost NT$200, an increase of about 5 percent, while the price of a medium-sized uva black tea would remain unchanged at NT$160. Chun Shui Tang also announced several promotional gift offerings, including a voucher for a small uva black tea, a voucher for a small bubble tea or a small tote bag, based on the amount spent in a single transaction.
ENVIRONMENT
Earthquake strikes in Yilan
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Taiwan at 4:20pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter of the temblor was located at sea, 39.4km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 119.5km. The earthquake’s intensity was highest in parts of Yilan and Hualien, where it measured a 3 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, it said. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 across most of northern, eastern and central Taiwan, as well as in Tainan, CWA data showed.
MILITARY
Air force drills begin
The air force is scheduled to begin its annual Tien Lung, or “Sky Dragon,” drills today to test pilots’ combat skills and ground-based logistical support, a military source said yesterday. The drills are scheduled to run through Friday and would test pilots’ air-to-air, air-to-sea, and air-to-ground combat skills using the air force’s main fighter aircraft — F-16Vs, Mirage 2000-5s and Indigenous Defense Fighters — the unnamed source said. The exercises would focus on aerial interceptions and the use of the aerial gunnery target system. They would also simulate pilots scrambling their aircraft at short notice, identifying targets, firing missiles at them and conducting mock “dogfights” with enemy aircraft, the source said. As in previous years, the air force would also select flying aces in different categories, including aerial combat and precision. The source added that the Tien Lung exercises would also include ground-based logistical support drills and test the air force’s joint operational capabilities with the army, navy, and Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command.
SHORT-TERM OUTLOOK: The Chinese military would most likely focus on rebuilding its organization and leadership in the next few years, experts said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) military purge has reduced the risks of a planned war against Taiwan, yet increased the danger of a conflict sparked by a miscalculation or accident, Taiwanese experts said yesterday. They made the comments at a seminar on the Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th Central Committee held by the research group Secure Taiwan Associate Corp (STA) in Taipei. The wholesale sacking of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers and managers of the aerospace and defense industry is sure to set back Xi’s timetable to prepare the PLA to launch an invasion of Taiwan
BATTLE-TESTED: Czech companies’ drones, software and navigation systems have been tested in the Ukraine war, while other countries’ are lab-tested, a Czech ex-official said Czech manufacturers are interested in setting up drone assembly lines in Taiwan, former Czech Chamber of Deputies president Marketa Pekarova Adamova told a forum in Taipei yesterday. Adamova made the comments at the inauguration of the Global UAV Academy, an organization dedicated to international cooperation in drone supply chains, technological certification and pilot training. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology said the Czech Republic is the largest importer of Taiwanese drones and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) components. Adamova, who transitioned to the defense industry after retiring from politics, said the Roman adage “si vis pacem, para bellum” — “If you
The husband of a Taiwanese woman stabbed to death at a hotel in Japan has been detained on suspicion of entering into a sham marriage and taking out high-value insurance policies in her name, Tainan prosecutors said today. A woman surnamed Ching (井), 38, was killed on Monday last week at a tourist hotel in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan. A Taiwanese woman surnamed Yang (楊) was arrested by Japanese police on suspicion of murder, Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief prosecutor Wang Sheng-hao (王聖豪) said. Investigators suspect that Ching's new husband, surnamed Lee (李), 29, arranged a sham marriage, encouraged her to travel to Japan
STAY VIGILANT: An aircraft carrier and battle group were located to the east of the Philippines, while other ships were identified off the east and southeast coast of Taiwan China has more than 50 naval and other official vessels operating in a wide swath of sea stretching from southern Japan down to Taiwan and off the Philippines, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Wednesday, calling the threat level “obvious.” Taiwan is stepping up efforts to issue details and maps depicting locations where Chinese warships and coast guard vessels operate. “We are staying vigilant about their activities,” Wu said. “The simultaneous threat to Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines is obvious.” The remarks accompanied a map he posted on X showing the locations of 53 ships, 34 of them navy warships,
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