■POLITICS
APEC envoy to be revealed
The Presidential Office said yesterday it would announce the name of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) envoy to the 2009 APEC summit once host country Singapore has been informed of the selection. Sources close to the president said former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will be chosen as Ma’s special envoy to the summit, which is scheduled for Nov. 12 to Nov. 14. In keeping with past practice, the Presidential Office will announce the name only after notifying the host country via a special envoy, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said. In August, Singapore sent a special envoy to Taipei to deliver Ma’s invitation to the summit. The Singaporean envoy is expected to return to Taiwan soon to be told who will represent Taiwan. “This procedure shows respect for the host country,” Wang said.
■EARTHQUAKES
Temblor strikes off Yilan
An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale struck in the east at 5:05am yesterday, but no immediate damage was reported. The Central Weather Bureau said the epicenter of the earthquake was located 1.8km northeast of Nanao (南澳), Yilan County at a depth of 43.8km. The temblor, with an intensity of 3.0 in Yilan and Hualien counties, was followed by a 4.8 quake at 9:16pm whose effect was felt only in Yilan and Hualien counties, the bureau said.
■ECONOMY
Council, Kansas sign deal
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) yesterday signed a bilateral agreement with the Kansas Department of Commerce to boost trade between both sides. The signing was held at the Taipei Guest House and was witnessed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) and Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson, who will also attend the Taiwan International Green Industry Show. This year marks the 20th year since Kansas and Taiwan became “sister states” in 1989, the MOFA said in a press release. Yang thanked Kansas for the state’s long-standing support for Taiwan’s bid to sign a free-trade agreement with the US and its participation in various UN agencies. Parkinson said the agreement was not geared toward a specific industry but was a comprehensive agreement that he hoped would benefit both sides.
■CULTURE
Museum may change hands
The government is considering a transfer of responsibility over the National Palace Museum from the Executive Yuan to the Presidential Office, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday. Wang said Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) broached the issue at yesterday’s weekly luncheon with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) at the Presidential Office. Wang said Wu said that while some felt the National Palace Museum should be supervised by the Presidential Office, others proposed making it an incorporated administrative agency. Wang said all participants at the meeting agreed that there was room for discussion regarding whether the head of the National Palace Museum should attend the weekly Cabinet meeting. Wang said they welcomed the input of art and culture circles and would not make a decision until a consensus had been reached.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
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