Taiwan Security & Defense: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence reported five PLA aircraft sorties, eight PLAN vessels and seven official ships operating around the island, with three aircraft entering the northern and eastern ADIZ—another reminder of persistent military pressure. Diplomacy: MOFA’s top U.S. and Canada official, Wang Liang-yu, was named Taiwan’s new envoy to Australia, taking over a Canberra post that has been vacant since last month. Weather Watch: The Central Weather Administration issued heat alerts for 10 areas and warned a low-pressure system could bring severe weather risk through next Monday, with heavy rain advisories in mountainous New Taipei and Yilan. Local Emergency Readiness: Hualien launched an AI-enabled ambulance “corridor” pilot that pre-stages green lights based on predicted arrival times, aiming to cut emergency response delays. Economy & Industry: Taiwan’s proposed 2027 defence budget would rise to a record NT$1.1225 trillion (about $31.4b), with spending focused on air/missile defence, unmanned systems and resilient command networks. Culture & Business: Taipei Music Expo 2026 runs Aug. 27-30 at Taipei Music Center, pairing a B2B industry market with the JAM JAM ASIA festival and major Asia-Pacific music brands.