SEISMICITY
Earthquake jolts Chiayi
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 12:49pm yesterday, according to the Central Weather Bureau. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter of the temblor was in Minxiong Township (民雄), the largest township in Chiayi County, about 14km northeast of Chiayi County Hall, at a depth of 7.7km, the bureau’s Seismology Center said. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Yunlin County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 3 in Tainan and 2 in Changhua County, the bureau said.
SOCIETY
Man survives cardiac arrest
A Japanese national rescued from an apartment fire in Taipei yesterday was revived by doctors after suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, local police said. The man, 25-year-old television personality Yuta Okubo, is breathing, police said. Firefighters had rescued Okubo from the fifth floor of an apartment building on Tonghe E Street in Shilin District (士林) after responding to an emergency call at about 3am, police said. Okubo was rushed to the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest and was resuscitated by hospital staff, police said. The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has been contacted to help inform Okubo’s family in Japan about the incident, police said, adding that the cause of the fire was still being investigated. The fire, which was extinguished at about 3:25am, appears to have started from an air-conditioner unit in one of the rooms on the floor, media reports said.
CRIME
Woman sentenced for life
A woman who caused a fire in a Kaohsiung City building that killed 46 people and injured 41 in 2021 was handed a life sentence by the Kaohsiung Branch of the Taiwan High Court on Wednesday. The court found Huang Ke-ke (黃格格) guilty of homicide after judging that on Oct. 14, 2021, she deliberately left burning residue from mosquito repellent incense on a sofa in her boyfriend’s apartment, in the Cheng Chung Cheng (城中城) building, with the burning ashes sparking a fire that spread through the building. The ruling sentenced Huang to life imprisonment and disenfranchisement for life at about 9am Wednesday through a remote court hearing. There was sufficient evidence to prove that Huang meant to kill people, the court said. The case can be appealed.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
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