Radio Taiwan International
Date: 06 November, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Tropical Storm Atsani made landfall in southern Taiwan on Friday morning. The storm is currently in the Bashi Channel to the south of Taiwan, and heading towards the Pratas Islands to the west. 

Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau says it expects rainfall and wind to strengthen in the country’s southern counties. Residents of the southern cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan have been told to brace for stormy conditions Friday night.       [FULL  STORY]

Taipei promotes pet ownership with animal-friendly services

Fox News Go
Date: Nov 6, 2020
By: James Leggate | Fox News

Strollers with dogs have become common in Taiwan’s capital, in part because the metro system requires pets to be held in carriers, but also because there are now more pets than children in Taiwan as more people have been adopting pets and the country’s birthrate has declined, The Guardian reported Friday.    [FULL  STORY]

5-meter-long oarfish caught off coast of eastern Taiwan after temblors strike

Taiwan News
Date: 02020/11/060
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese fishermen on Friday (Nov. 6) caught a massive oarfish (Regalecus glesne) nearly five meters in length off the coast of eastern Taiwan, on the same day two earthquakes struck the area.

The oarfish was 490 centimeters long and weighed about 45 kilograms. It was caught off the coast of Dong'ao in Yilan County.

The owner of Fumei Huo Seafood Restaurant (富美活海鮮餐廳) purchased the fish for NT$16,000 (US$560). Chen Kuo-pin (陳國濱) was cited by Liberty Times as saying that it was the longest "Earthquake Fish" (地震魚) he had ever seen.

Oarfish are called "Earthquake Fish" in Taiwan because according to local lore, they surface from the deep ocean just before a major earthquake. Chen said that one kilogram of meat from the fish can sell for NT$400 and is "more tender than tofu" and suitable for steamed cooking.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 11/06/2020
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Matthew Mazzetta

Tainan, Nov. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's China Petrochemical Development Corp. (CPDC) on Friday was ordered to pay NT$14.375 million (US$503,187) in compensation to Tainan residents for dioxin contamination caused by its plant in the city's Annan District.

In 2017, 229 residents living near CPDC's Anshun plant on Tainan's northwest coast filed a compensation claim against the company and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

They alleged that CPDC and its state-run predecessor had polluted the local waters with mercury, causing dangerous levels of dioxins in the fish and shrimp that served as one of their main food sources.

On Friday, Tainan District Court ruled that 190 of the claimants had already exceeded the maximum allowable time for making a compensation claim, but ordered CPDC to pay NT$14.375 million to the remaining 39 claimants, amounting to NT$368,590 per person.    [FULL  STORY]

RAIN WARNINGS: The CWB forecast that Tropical Storm Atsani would bring strong wind and heavy rain to the south, with rain also expected as far north as Keelung

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 07, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Air and sea travel in some areas of Taiwan was disrupted yesterday as Tropical Storm Atsani swirled past the southern coast of the country, bringing strong wind and heavy rain, transportation authorities said.

As of 10am, 22 domestic flights had been canceled, although cross-Taiwan Strait and international flights were operating on schedule, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.

Twenty-eight ferry services on six routes between Taiwan proper and its outlying islands, including Matsu and Penghu, have been temporarily halted, the Maritime Port Bureau said.

Land travel was uninterrupted.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 05 November, 2020
By: Paula Chao

[Why Taiwan cares who becomes US president][/caption] The 2020 US presidential election is turning out to be a real nail-biter for everyone. But, why are Taiwanese people concerned? In today’s Taiwan Insider, we take to the streets to find out! 

The Daily Mail
Date: 5 November 2020
By: AFP

The World Health Organization is facing renewed pleas to allow Taiwan to participate in a key international meeting amid fears its exclusion could jeopardise efforts to rein in the coronavirus pandemic.

As many parts of the world are reeling from surging numbers of Covid-19 infections and deaths, the WHO is due Monday to resume its main annual meeting, which was cut short in May.

But while the World Health Assembly (WHA) is expected to focus heavily on international coordination of the pandemic response, one international actor will not be present.

Taiwan has been excluded from the WHO and a number of other international organisations amid pressure from China, which regards the self-ruled democratic island of 23 million people as its own territory.    [FULL  STORY]

Severe Tropical Storm Atsani expected to come closest to Taiwan Friday, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/11/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

AIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) today (Nov. 5) has issued sea and land typhoon warnings for Tropical Storm Atsani as it is expected to come closest to the country on Friday (Nov. 6), bringing powerful winds, big waves, and heavy rain.

As of 2 a.m. (Nov. 5), Tropical Storm Atsani was located 670 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's southernmost tip of Eluanbi, moving west at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour, according to the CWB. What the weather bureau describes as a "severe tropical storm" has a radius of 80 kilometers and is packing maximum sustained winds of 90 kph and gusts of up to 118 kph.

At 8:30 a.m., the CWB issued a sea typhoon warning for Atsani, the 20th tropical storm of the year. It is gradually approaching the Bashi Channel and is expected to bring winds ranging from level 8 to 9 on the Beaufort scale to eastern Taiwan, the southeast, the Hengchun Peninsula, open coastal areas in the north and central regions, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. Large waves are also likely in the eastern part of the country, the Hengchun Peninsula, and on the north coast of Keelung.

The CWB predicts that by 8 a.m. on Friday (Nov. 6), the center of Atsani will be no further than 190 kilometers southeast of Eluanbi. The weather bureau states that as Atsani nears, precipitation will begin to pick up in the north and the eastern half of the country, particularly Taitung and the Hengchun Peninsula. Southern Taiwan could also see localized heavy rain but not likely the same amount seen elsewhere.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 06, 2020
By: Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA

Backing Taiwan has bipartisan and mainstream support in the US, an environment conducive to deepening ties between the two nations, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, as she reassured Taiwanese of the government’s rapport with both US Democrats and Republicans.

Tsai wrote on Facebook that the government closely monitors the situation in the Taiwan Strait and maintains contact with neighboring countries to uphold regional peace and stability, which has a stabilizing effect on the stock market and anchors the nation’s economy.

Ongoing relations with both houses of the US Congress, think tanks — government-based or otherwise — and civic groups would remain unchanged regardless of which political party wins the US elections, Tsai said.

While the number of seats in both houses is subject to change, support for Taiwan — and the legislation and arms sales under review — would not, Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]