AVIATION
CAL flight turns back
A China Airlines flight with about 300 passengers on board had to turn around and return to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday morning after an engine malfunction. Flight 100 took off from Taoyuan at 9:25am en route to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. The pilot detected an error signal on one of the engines about 30 minutes after takeoff and decided to return to Taoyuan after failing to fix the problem. The plane landed safely at 10:27am. The airline arranged for the 296 passengers on board to fly on another aircraft, which departed at 1:30pm. Passengers in the Airbus 330-300 said in interviews on TVBS cable network they heard a loud boom and could smell burning plastic. CAL said it would conduct further inspections to determine the cause of the problem.
CULTURE
Ma to give special coins
The red envelopes President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will be handing out for the Lunar New Year holiday will have different elements to welcome the Year of Rabbit: two NT$1 coins rather than coin-shape chocolates. Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said Ma and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) would begin distributing the red envelopes on Lunar New Year’s Eve, which falls on Feb. 2. Lo said they had 200,000 enveloopes in stock, which cost about NT$1 million (US$34,100) to produce, including the cost of the coins. As the coins are real, Lo urged parents to remind their young children not to eat them. The special design was ordered by Ma to mark the centenary of the Republic of China, Lo said.
WEATHER
Cold snap hits north
Temperatures in northern parts of the country could drop to 10oC today after a strong cold air mass arrived over the weekend, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. The bureau also issued low temperature alerts for residents living in coastal areas north of Hsinchu County, as well as the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu. Daytime temperatures yesterday were between 14oC and 15oC in the north, while the central parts of the nation experienced temperatures in the high teens and low-20s in the south. The lowest temperature was reported early yesterday morning in Hsinchu, with the mercury sliding to 10.8oC. The bureau added that it might snow on Hehuanshan (合歡山) today. The strong cold air mass could start weakening by tomorrow. Temperatures will drop again on Friday when another cold wave is expected to hit the nation.
TRANSPORT
City to manage bike stands
The Taipei City Government yesterday said it would begin systematically managing 2,000 bicycle stands this year to address the parking needs of the growing number of riders who commute or get around on their bikes. The Parking Management and Development Office said it planned to put more spaces for bicycles on the side of roads as part of the project, but would also gradually increase the number of bicycle parking lots. One goal is to increase parking capacity near public transport hubs to make it easier for bike riders to take advantage of the MRT system’s expanding mixed-mode commuting network. Effectively managing those parking lots will be just as important as building them if the bicycle-MRT commuting option catches on, officials said. One new parking lot built last year near the MRT Technology Building Station, with a capacity of 655 bicycles, has already reduced bike parking violations and bicycle theft, the city said.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
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