Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
Hau gave assurances after presiding over a city administrative meeting. He said the lightning, triggered by a thunderstorm, destroyed two control circuit boards, leading to a breakdown of the tourism-oriented skyrail system, which only began operation six days ago.
The transportation system, which connects the Taipei City Zoo and Muzha's Maokong tea-growing district tourist attractions, broke down at 1:45pm and did not resume operations until 7pm, according to the gondola's operator, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC).
PHOTO: CNA
It took TRTC engineers more than five hours to repair the system.
The gondola for the first time activated its "rescue mode" soon after it was struck by lightning and transported passengers to a nearby station using back-up power. As a result, no passengers were trapped during the incident, TRTC officials said.
Deputy Mayor Lin Chung-yi (林崇一) said that the cable car system stops running as soon as it detects lighting. Moreover, he said, the system is equipped with a lightning prediction device, which is able to detect lightning 5km from the system.
Lin also explained that while the system's lightning conductor is designed to guide electricity from lightning to the ground, the lightning strike was too strong and burned out the circuit boards as it passed through the cable car's electronic systems.
The skyrail's builder, the French company POMA, has been informed of the failure and asked to improve the lightning avoidance system to reduce the risk of future mechanical failures, Lin added.
As for complaints by visitors about illegal street vendors and excessively high food and beverage prices, Lin said a task force of officials responsible for health, environmental protection and law enforcement affairs has been organized to crack down on the unfairness and offenses.
The law will be strictly enforced to ensure fair markets and environmental protection in tourist locations, Lin said.
Also see story:
Managing a project is as crucial as building
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could