SOCIETY
Sinkhole prompts evacuation
Ten people who were placed in a hotel after a large sinkhole appeared in front of their homes in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) on Saturday might need to wait up to two weeks before they are allowed to return, the Taipei City Government said yesterday. A small sinkhole appeared on Chongde Street (崇德街) at about 2:50pm on Saturday, believed to have been caused by nearby construction work. However, the sinkhole grew to 15m long and 3m wide, with a depth of 3m, and became larger at about 5:20pm, the city government said. The incident led to the evacuation of 16 households living nearby due to safety concerns, although no injuries were reported, it said. The sinkhole has been filled, but several safety conditions must be met before the evacuated residents of five affected households are permitted to return home, Department of Urban Development head Wang Yu-fen (王玉芬) said. Xinyi District Administrator Chen Kuan-ling (陳冠伶) said that each evacuated resident would receive an emergency resettlement subsidy of NT$1,600 per day from the city government for up to seven days. Any additional costs would be paid by the construction firm, Chen said.
TRAVEL
Airport handles 10m trips
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport had by Tuesday handled 10 million passenger trips so far this year, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The airport expects to handle 28 million passenger trips this year, which would be 58 percent of the 2019 level before the COVID-19 pandemic, company chairman Yang Wei-fuu (楊偉甫) said in a statement. Transport capacity at the airport grew 68.6 percent from an average of 21,000 passengers a day on Oct. 13 last year, when Taiwan reopened its borders and eased virus restrictions, to a daily average of 91,000 last month, he said. By the end of last month, the percentage of airport shops operating had also reached 79 percent of the 2019 level, he added.
AVIATION
EVA Airways wins five stars
EVA Airways Corp has been certified by airline-ranking company Skytrax as a five-star airline for the eighth consecutive year, making it the only carrier in Taiwan to win the honor, the airline announced on Thursday. Only 10 airlines received a five-star rating from Skytrax this year, EVA Airways said in a statement. The decision to award the eighth consecutive five-star rating to the carrier represents Skytrax’s recognition of the consistently superb service provided by its staff, company president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said in a statement, adding that such awards motivate EVA Airways to continue improving its services to make passenger flights more comfortable. The other nine airlines to receive the five-star honor for this year were Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Hainan Airlines and Garuda Indonesia.
HEALTH
Premier tests positive
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) canceled a planned public appearance yesterday after testing positive for COVID-19 on Saturday evening, acting Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said. Chen took a COVID-19 test after experiencing a cough and throat discomfort, Lo said, adding that his doctor has advised him to rest at home. Chen can report to work as usual by wearing a mask after his respiratory symptoms relieve, Lo quoted the doctor as saying.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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