SOCIETY
Drunk driver hits train
A man driving under the influence of alcohol yesterday morning crashed his car into the side of a Taroko Express train in Hualien County, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said, adding that no one was seriously injured. The collision occurred when Taroko Express No. 401 passed a level crossing in Chiamin Village (佳民) in Hualien County’s Sioulin Township (秀林), it said in a statement. After hearing a loud sound, the train driver stopped to inspect the train and found that the third carriage had been hit from the side, it said. None of the 370 passengers on board from Taitung Station to Sioulin Station were injured, while the car was badly damaged, the Hualien railway police said. The 20-year-old driver sustained minor injuries and was rushed to a local hospital, police said. He was later found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.3mg per liter, and is to be charged for endangering public safety, police said. The crash caused about 80 minutes of delays on the railway, the TRA said.
DIPLOMACY
Swedish lawmakers visit
A group of Swedish lawmakers are visiting Taiwan on a seven-day trip during which they are to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. During the meetings, discussions would focus on issues of mutual interest, the latest situation in the region, and economic and trade developments, the ministry said in a statement. The six-member delegation led by Mathias Tegner, vice president of the Swedish-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Association, arrived on Saturday. Before concluding their trip on Friday, the delegates are expected to visit the National Development Council, the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, it said. Other members of the cross-parties delegation include lawmakers Joar Forssell, Johan Hultberg, Asa Eriksson, Eva Lindh and Stefan Olsson, it added. The visit marks the second visit to Taiwan by a delegation of Swedish lawmakers this year, after a four-member group, led by lawmaker Markus Wiechel, visited from May 14 to May 19. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the latest visit was another example of warming ties between Sweden and Taiwan, adding that Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has expressed concern over China’s military threat to Taiwan in his first parliamentary address in October last year.
SOCIETY
Pets outnumbering babies
The number of cats and dogs registered as pets exceeded the number of babies born in Hsinchu County for the third consecutive year last year, the county’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office said on Sunday. In a news release, the office said that since the phenomenon first occurred in 2020, registrations of pet cats have gone up by about 25 percent per year, while dog registrations have increased by 10 percent annually. Last year, the number of dogs and cats registered in the county hit 5,129, while only 4,033 children were born, the office said, adding that the trend showed how pets are increasingly being seen as “a part of the family.” The office said that it had recently used central and local government funding to open a new animal protection education park (a modern animal welfare-focused shelter) in Jhubei City (竹北), and offered free rabies vaccinations, and spaying and neutering services. Hsinchu County has a population of 587,000, which has increased by about 50,000 in the past 10 years, driven mainly by migration to the county seat, Jhubei, which is just north of Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
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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