TRAVEL
Bullet train hits goat
A train heading from Taipei to Kaohsiung was delayed by 15 minutes on Tuesday after hitting a goat that had inexplicably found its way onto the high-speed rail’s tracks, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said. No damage or casualties were reported in the accident, except for a minor injury suffered by the animal, a company spokesman said. The incident took place at 4:03pm near the line’s 103km marker in Miaoli County’s Zaociao Township (造橋), when the train driver discovered that he had hit a “foreign object,” which was later found to be a goat, the spokesman said. The driver stopped the train immediately to assess the situation, making sure the train was not damaged before continuing the journey, he said. As a result, the train reached its destination 15 minutes later than its scheduled arrival time of 5:06pm. THSRC will look into how the animal found its way onto the tracks, which are protected by fences. The goat has been returned to its owner.
SCIENCE
Forensics king Yang dies
Locally renowned forensics expert Yang Ri-song (楊日松) died yesterday of colon cancer at the age of 84, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said. Yang, sometimes described as “Taiwan’s Sherlock Holmes,” worked in the field of forensics for almost 50 years and served as a consultant at the Institute of Forensic Medicine after he retired. A graduate of National Taiwan University College of Medicine, he conducted tens of thousands of dissections and became a legend by solving some of the nation’s most bizarre murder cases. Colleagues praised Yang as the nation’s most important pioneer in forensic science. Yang’s family expressed the desire for a low-profile funeral, the bureau said.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
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