■ AVIATION
CAL fined over cargo
China Airlines (CAL) was fined NT$200,000 yesterday for failing to apply to ship 15 loads of iridium-192 to Singapore, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday. The shipment originated from the US and was bound for Singapore, the AEC said. According to Management of Radioactive Material, Equipment Capable of Producing Ionizing Radiation and Practice regulations, shipments that transfer through Taiwan and contain radioactive material must be approved by the AEC beforehand. Failure to abide by the regulations can result in fines of between NT$600,000 and NT$3 million (US$90,000). CAL said it had applied for approval to ship hazardous items, but because of a lack of experience did not realize it also had to apply to ship radioactive materials. Taking this into consideration, the AEC lowered the fine.
■ CRIME
Pageant probed
Prosecutors said yesterday they were investigating claims that a pageant organizer conned a beauty contest by claiming that his Australian models came from various countries. Models claiming to be from 24 countries took part in the contest in Taiwan last week, but organizer Huang Chih-hui (黃智慧) later found that at least nine women, including ethnic Bosnian winner Esma Voloder, were from Australia. Huang said she had been fooled by the scam, having paid for airfares, hotel accommodation and other activities for the women for what was supposed to be an international event. A spokesman for Taoyuan District Prosecutor’s Office said it was probing fraud and document forgery charges against Australian organizer Gavin Dooley.
■ TRANSPORTATION
Hu takes bus to work
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) commuted to work by public bus yesterday — the first day of the city’s six-month free public bus program to promote the bus system. The city’s transport department began offering two free bus packages, which will run through Nov. 17 and include offering users of the “Taiwan Easy Go” free bus rides on seven newly launched routes along the city’s planned Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) system’s proposed lines. The other package grants card-users the right to ride public buses downtown free of charge between 7am and 9am and from 5pm to 7pm Monday to Friday, the city government said. Speaking at City Hall, Hu told senior officials he was satisfied with the new program.
■ SPORTS
Miaoli cyclist wins challenge
An Olympic cyclist from Miaoli County won the men’s category of a 72km bicycle challenge on the new Cross-Island Highway in central Taiwan on Sunday. A total of 4,711 athletes took part in the event, which was divided into two parts — a competition group of 170 contestants, including 30 from overseas and a challenge group of 4,541 cyclists. The foreign cyclists came from the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The race started at Shuili Junior High School at 5am and the cyclists rode uphill along Highway 21 to the finish at the Tatajia Tourist Center in Yushan National Park. Feng Chun-kai (馮俊凱), 21, an Olympic athlete and a student at National Taiwan Sport University, completed the race along the winding mountain road in a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 29 seconds to take the first prize. In the women’s category, Tseng Hsiao-chia (曾筱嘉), 22, from Taichung County, captured the title, completing the route in 2 hours, 32 minutes and 8 seconds.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
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