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).
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
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
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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