TAX REBATE
Most Taiwanese claim cash
More than 16 million people have collected a NT$6,000 cash handout from the government, representing 70 percent of the population, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. About 4.2 million people who belong to special groups — such as National Pension Insurance recipients — were paid directly into their accounts. Meanwhile, 9.08 million people collected their allowance by direct deposit, Deputy Minister of Finance Juan Ching-hua (阮清華) said at a news conference. Eligible recipients can collect the handout from Monday to Oct. 31 at post offices by showing a National Health Insurance card. Those whose ID cards end with an odd number can collect on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while those with even numbers can do so on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. People aged 65 or older and those with disabilities are not subject to the restrictions.
SOCIETY
Ma to speak at Greek forum
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is to participate in a “fireside chat” at the Delphi Economic Forum later this month, sharing his views on the future of cross-strait relations based on his recent visit to China, his office said on Thursday. During a visit to Greece, Ma is scheduled to attend the forum’s opening ceremony on April 26, and then engage in a discussion on April 28 with Cheng Li (李成), director of the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center. Ma and Li are to discuss current geopolitical tensions in Asia and whether Taiwan is at risk of sharing Ukraine’s fate, Ma’s office said. The former president is interested in sharing his thoughts and observations about his China visit, which is a first for a former Taiwanese leader, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation executive director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said. Ma is expected to express the view that “Taiwan has another route to peace that differs from the policies of the Democratic Progressive Party, one that can ensure cross-strait harmony and regional stability,” Hsiao said.
SOCIETY
Fire kills one in Taitung
A 68-year-old man has died while a woman has been hospitalized for smoke inhalation after a fire ripped through a subdivided residential building in Taitung early on Thursday morning. Firefighters rescued three others from the blaze on Jingcheng Road, which was reported at 12:22am and extinguished by 2:30am, the Taitung County Fire Department said. Diesel fuel and wooden partitions used to subdivide rooms caused the fire to spread up the three-story building before engulfing a sheet metal structure on the roof, the department said. Firefighters found the body of a 68-year-old man surnamed Yang (楊) in one of the building’s rooms after extinguishing the fire, it said. A second, unrelated fire broke out in a building of similar construction about 500m from the first blaze at 6:30am, in which no one was harmed, the department said.
EARTHQUAKES
Two tremors strike Taitung
Two earthquakes of magnitude 4.1 and 3.6 struck Taitung County at 11:54am yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said. The epicenter of the bigger quake was in Taitung City, 4.2km north-northwest of Taitung County Hall, at a depth of 5km, it said. The magnitude 3.6 earthquake was centered about 10km away, in Beinan Township (卑南), 3.7km north-northwest of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 9.1km. On Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the largest tremor measured 4, while the other had an intensity of 3, it said. No damage or injuries were reported.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
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