Day: January 4, 2022

Snow chasers may find some excitement on the high peaks in central Taiwan late Thursday into Friday, when snowfall is likely at elevations of over 3,500 meters, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Tuesday.

 

As a damp weather front approaches, Yushan, Xueshan and Mount Xiuguluan might see snowfall, while slightly lower peaks such Hehuanshan are likely to get only frost, rime ice or snow pellets, the CWB said.

 

Carrying moisture and seasonal winds, the weather front will approach Taiwan on Wednesday, bringing showers across the country, particularly in northern and eastern areas, the CWB forecast.

 

The rainy weather will last until Friday, after which clearer skies will prevail into next Monday, according to the bureau.

 

On Wednesday, meanwhile, temperatures are expected to drop to lows of 15-17 degrees Celsius islandwide, but daytime highs of 23 degrees in northern Taiwan and 26 degrees elsewhere will prevail, the CWB said.

 

By Thursday, the mercury will drop by 2-5 degrees across the country, and the lower temperatures will last into Friday, the bureau forecast.

 

Warmer weather is likely on the weekend, but another cold front is expected next Tuesday, the CWB said, adding that it has not yet determined the strength of that system.

 

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

American-born naturalized Taiwanese basketball star Quincy Davis is expected to play his first game for the New Taipei Kings in Taiwan’s P. LEAGUE+ Saturday, which will see him face off against his former team, the Taoyuan Pilots.

 

Davis was the first naturalized player to represent Taiwan in international basketball competition. The 203-centimeter player renounced his U.S. citizenship and obtained Republic of China (Taiwan) citizenship in 2013.

 

Davis played power forward and center for the Pilots during the professional basketball league’s inaugural season last year, but has been signed by expansion team the Kings this season, which tipped off Dec. 4 but has so far sat out of the team’s first six games.

 

Kings’ general manager James Mao (毛加恩) told CNA Monday that Davis has been undergoing physical therapy for a lumbar injury but a recent evaluation deemed him fit to play.

 

The last time Davis played competitively was in May last year so the Kings will proceed with caution by initially limiting his playing time, Mao said, adding that whether he will play two days in a row is still be decided.

 

“He (Davis) will want to play the whole game, but in order to protect him, we may have some restrictions so he is not on the court too long,” Mao said.

 

The Kings were defeated by the Braves in overtime at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium on Sunday and Davis had said he wanted to play that day, Mao said.

 

In response to the upcoming matchup Saturday, Davis told CNA Tuesday that he is excited to be back on the basketball court as it shows he is healthy enough to keep playing basketball and provide for his family.

 

“I just feel very excited to get back on the basketball court no matter which team we are playing against,” Davis said. “Also, this gives inspiration to everyone to never give up staying healthy to achieve your goals.”

 

When asked about his physical condition, Davis said he is doing new exercises and new training programs to get his body prepared for a full season of competitive basketball.

Also playing for the first time on Saturday for the Kings will be former NBA power forward Chris McCullough.

 

The Kings will host the visiting Taoyuan Pilots at New Taipei Xinzhunag Gymnasium Saturday and the Taipei Fubon Braves on Sunday.

 

The New Taipei team is placed fourth in the six-team league with a record of three wins and three losses.

 

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Tuesday that his country’s decision to allow the opening of a Taiwan representative office there under the name “Taiwanese” was a mistake that has led to a series of retaliatory measures from China.

 

Speaking during a radio interview, Nausėda said there was nothing wrong with agreeing to the establishment of the office in the capital Vilnius last November, but the problem was the official name — The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania.

 

“The name of the office became a key factor that now has a very strong impact on our relations with China,” he said said in the interview on Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT). “I believe the name was the spark, and now we have to deal with the consequences.”

 

Lithuania and Taiwan can set up reciprocal representative offices, even though they do not have diplomatic relations, but Lithuania has come under unusual pressure since the opening of the Taiwan office, Nausėda said.

 

“Unconventional measures have started to be taken against Lithuania, and we have to be very active and signal very clearly to the EU that this is an attack, a kind of pressure on one of the EU countries,” according to a transcript of the interview published on LRT’s website.

 

Asked to comment, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told CNA that the ministry had noted President Nausėda remarks in the interview but did not wish to comment on the foreign policy of another country.

 

Taiwan will continue to support Lithuania amid the pressure it has encountered from China on all fronts simply because it allowed the opening of the representative office under the name “Taiwanese,” she added.

 

Taiwan’s representative offices in other countries with which it does not have official diplomatic relations usually use “Taipei” in their official names.

 

Beijing, which claims that Taiwan and mainland China are part of the same country, has sought to impose a cost on Lithuania for its decision, which it sees as implying Taiwan’s formal independence.

 

China’s recent retaliatory actions have included recalling its ambassador to Lithuania and expelling the Lithuanian ambassador from Beijing, as well as suspending direct freight train services to the Baltic state and banning Lithuanian products from entering the Chinese market.

 

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel