WEATHER
Snow falls on Yushan
Strong and wet easterly winds yesterday afternoon brought a rare May snowfall to the nation’s highest mountain, the Central Weather Bureau said. It was only the fifth time since 1990 that snow had fallen in May on Yushan (玉山), following snowfalls in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2011. The latest snow has ever been recorded on Yushan in the month was on May 31, 1955, the bureau said. Yesterday’s snow began to fall at 1:30pm and lasted until 2:10pm, when it became rain, the bureau said. At 2pm, 0.5cm of snow had accumulated on Yushan’s 3,858m north peak, where the bureau’s weather station is located. Snow accumulated even though temperatures were higher than 0°C, with the bureau recording a temperature of 1.3°C at 2:05pm.
TRANSPORTATION
TRA service resumes
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday resumed regular operations, following a May Day strike. As of 6am, all trains were operating normally on all routes, it said. Angered over a plan to corporatize the agency, the Taiwan Railway Labor Union initiated an unprecedented walkout on Sunday, citing a lack of concern for workers’ rights. All scheduled train services were halted, with TRA only able to provide 18 temporary commuter train journeys.
SPORTS
Taiwan No. 1 in recurve bow
Taiwan’s men’s recurve bow team rose to world No. 1 and the women’s recurve bow team rose to world No. 9 in the latest world rankings published by the World Archery Federation. The men’s team climbed four spots from fifth to first place with a total of 363.75 points, 112.5 of which were earned last month during the Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Antalya, Turkey. The Taiwan team of Olympians Tang Chih-chun (湯智鈞) and Wei Chun-heng (魏均珩), alongside newcomer Su Yu-yang (蘇于洋), won the gold medal in the recurve event after defeating Switzerland, followed by the US and the Netherlands in the semi-finals before shooting 10 bullseyes in the final to whitewash Italy 6-0. Olympian Lei Chien-ying (雷千瑩) led Peng Chia-mao (彭家楙) and Kuo Tzu-ying (郭紫穎) to win the bronze medal in the women’s recurve event. Their performance added 240.25 points to their world ranking, moving them up one spot from 10th to ninth place.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Japan honors Taiwanese
Chen Horng-chi (陳鴻基), a former chairman of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, was among three Taiwanese named in Japan’s 2022 spring honors list for their contributions to relations between Taipei and Tokyo. Chen is to receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun for his contributions to enhancing friendship and understanding between the nations, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association said in a statement on Friday. Lee Yung-chih (李永熾), 82, a retired National Taiwan University history professor, is also to receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star for his achievements in Japanese studies and building understanding between the nations, the statement said. Deysan International Lin Ding-san (林定三) is to receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays for his promotion of Japanese agricultural foods and Japanese food culture in Taiwan, it said. Lin, 72, is a Japan-accredited rice examiner. He has served as a goodwill ambassador to Taiwan for several Japanese local governments, including Yamagata, Miyagi and Yamanashi prefectures, and Unnan in Shimane Prefecture.
‘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
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
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
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
RSS