WEATHER
Snow falls on Yushan
Snow fell on the nation’s highest peak, Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山), early yesterday morning as a strong continental cold air mass moved over the island, the Central Weather Bureau said. At 8am, the temperature on the 3,952m-high mountain was minus-0.6oC and the snow had accumulated to 2.5cm, the bureau said. The cold air mass also sent temperatures in low-lying areas in the north plunging to 13oC in the early hours, it said. Meanwhile, the air quality in northern and central Taiwan, Yilan, Hualien, Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu was good to fair yesterday, the Environmental Protection Administration said. However, the air quality index in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County issued an “orange alert,” indicating unhealthy levels for sensitive groups, due to a lack of wind to disperse atmospheric pollutants, the agency said.
JUDICIARY
VP heads selection team
Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) was yesterday appointed to head a committee to select four candidates for the Council of Grand Justices, the Presidential Office said. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has approved the formation of the committee, which is to hold its first meeting tomorrow to seek recommendations from the public, the Presidential Office said in a statement. The four positions are to become vacant on Sept. 30, when the eight-year terms of grand justices Chen Be-yue (陳碧玉), Huang Hsi-chun (黃璽君), Lo Chang-fa (羅昌發) and Tang Te-tsung (湯德宗) end, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said. In accordance with the Constitution, Tsai will put forward four nominees who have to be confirmed by the legislature before being appointed grand justices.
EDUCATION
Robotics team advances
A team of Taiwanese high-school students has advanced to the national championships of a robotics competition in the US after winning at the regional level in San Diego, California, on Saturday. The 30 students from Taoyuan Municipal Nei Li Senior High School will now compete in the “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology” (FIRST) championship in Detroit, Michigan, from April 24 to 27. The FIRST robotics competition is a multinational contest, with 3,850 teams, or 96,250 students, participating in competitions held across the US and other parts of the world, the event’s Web site said. The goal is to bring together professionals and young people to solve engineering design problems, the Web site says.
SHIPPING
‘Sama’ to pay for damage
A foreign oil and chemical tanker that accidentally collided with Taiwanese navy vessel Ning Yang on Saturday has signed a document promising to pay full compensation for the damage, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The Saudi Arabia-registered tanker NCC Sama collided with the Ning Yang as it was entering the Port of Keelung after 1am on Saturday, denting the port side bow. No one was hurt in the incident. The Chi Yang-class frigate was docked when the incident occurred and therefore bears no responsibility, the source said, adding that the people in charge of NCC Sama had signed a compensation agreement. The Ning Yang could have sustained damage to its electronic systems and electric wires in addition to the dent, the source said. The compensation the navy is to ask for is to be determined over the next few days after a thorough inspection, the source said.
RAILWAYS
Holiday services announced
An additional 252 train services are to help meet the anticipated spike in traffic around Tomb Sweeping Festival from April 4 to 7, the Taiwan Railways Administration said on Saturday. Bookings for tickets are to open at midnight on Tuesday next week, the agency said, adding that in the east, there would be 82 additional Ziqiang Express services, 15 more Zhuguang Express departures and 11 extra local train departures from April 3 to 8. In the west, there would be 15 additional Ziqiang services, one extra Zhuguang departure and 100 more local services during the holiday, the agency said. Eight more local express trains with reserved seats are to be offered from April 4 to 7 between Shulin and Hualien railway stations, with discount tickets sold for NT$100 and NT$200 for the Taipei-Yilan and Taipei-Hualien routes respectively, it said.
BIOLOGY
Local truffle species studied
Local researchers are seeking to develop techniques to commercially grow the Tuber elevatireticulatum indigenous species of white truffle, the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute said last week. It would take two years to complete a study on artificial production techniques, associate research fellow Fu Chun-hsu (傅春旭) said. Commercial production of the highly sought-after commodity could hopefully be launched within a decade, he said. The species was found as part of a campaign by enthusiastic students to identify Taiwan’s native white truffles, Fu said. His students have found five new truffle species since 2014, including Hydnotrya formosanum and Tuber piceanum. The white truffle’s discovery was published in the scientific journal Botanical Studies, institute Director-General Chang Bin (張彬) said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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