WEATHER
Dozens of flights canceled
Dozens of domestic and international flights were canceled yesterday as Typhoon Doksuri continued to move closer to Taiwan and was expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds. As of 10am yesterday, 47 domestic flights and four international and cross-strait flights had been canceled, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said. The canceled domestic flights were those connecting Taipei to Taitung and Taichung, and the flights from Kaohsiung to Hualien, Kinmen and Penghu. In addition, 127 ferry services on 17 routes — mostly domestic — were also affected.
HEALTH
FDA recalls ADHD drug
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered the recall of a batch of Methydur Sustained Release Capsules 44mg, a medicine used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), after it failed a dissolution test. The FDA issued a recall notification on Tuesday, saying that lot number M082004 of the medication, which contained about 110,000 pills and was produced by Taiwanese biopharma company Orient Pharma, would be recalled by Aug. 18. There is another batch in the country, also of 110,000 pills, which is about a year’s supply, so the recall would not affect those who need the drug, FDA Deputy Director Chen Hwei-fang (陳惠芳) said.
CRIME
Chinese man surrenders
A Chinese man in his 40s surrendered to the authorities on Matsu, after seeking assistance from tourists in an effort to get treatment for a bee sting on Monday. The man sought help near Qinbi Broadcasting Station in Beigan Township at about 8am on Monday, local residents said. After the tourists contacted the local authorities, county officials were dispatched to the location and confirmed that the individual was a Chinese national. The man was immediately taken to Beigan Health Center, an official said, adding that he was recovering after receiving treatment. The man claimed to have swum more than 10 hours from the Huangqi Peninsula in China’s Fujian Province to Matsu to “seek freedom,” the local authorities said. The Chinese man was later taken to the Lienchiang District Prosecutors’ Office as part of an investigation conducted in accordance with the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the officials said.
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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