TRANSPORTATION
THSRC, JR Central sign deal
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Central Japan Railway Co (JR Central) on expanding their sharing of knowledge and experience related to railway operations. The MOU signed in Tokyo on Tuesday would “deepen the bilateral strategic partnership,” enabling the two sides to hold further exchanges on managing high-speed rail operations, service and maintenance, the THSRC said in a statement yesterday. JR Central has long supported THSRC by providing consulting services and technical assistance, including training THSRC drivers before Taiwan’s high-speed rail was launched. Their future cooperation is expected to further improve the professional capabilities of THSRC staff and help them provide better services, it said. THSRC chairman Chiang Yao-chung (江耀宗) said the two companies had already been close partners prior to the agreement, as Taiwan’s high-speed rail was the first project outside Japan to use the Shinkansen technology.
CRIME
Men arrested over drugs
The Aviation Police Bureau on Tuesday said two Taiwanese men arrested for smuggling amphetamine, a category 3 drug, into Taiwan have been indicted by prosecutors, who requested prison sentences of at least seven years, while a third suspect remains at large. The APB and Taipei Customs discovered a batch of whey protein powder imported from the US containing 8.646kg of amphetamine with a street value of nearly NT$10 million (US$316,506) said Chen Mien-tsung (陳綿宗), an officer in the bureau’s Criminal Investigation Police Brigade. The bureau set up an investigation team and asked the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office to lead the investigation, Chen said. The team discovered that a drug ring, allegedly led by a man surnamed Lin (林), nicknamed “Kuang Tou” (bareheaded), had been smuggling amphetamine from the US into Taiwan by concealing it in high-protein diet supplements. Two men, surnamed Wang (王) and Chang (張), were allegedly instructed to smuggle the drugs into the nation starting from March. Investigators in May arrested the two men as they picked up the drugs at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Lin, who is also wanted in connection with other crimes, including fraud and money laundering, a police officer said. After the arrest, the two men were questioned by police they admitted that they smuggled drugs into Taiwan, Chen said.
WEATHER
Mercury expected to drop
The clement weather that has lasted for more than a week is expected to continue until this evening before seasonal northeasterly winds pick up again, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Tuesday. The partly sunny weather would continue across the nation until today, with daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan of 26°C to 28°C and lows of 19°C to 21°C, CWA forecaster Huang En-hong (黃恩鴻) said. However, the weather is expected to change starting this evening, including increased rain at nighttime. The unstable weather is expected to last until Saturday. With the winds’ impact, temperatures are expected to drop to 17°C to 18°C across Taiwan, while the highs would reach 21°C to 22°C in the north, 22°C to 23°C in the east, and 26°C to 27°C in the central and southern areas, Huang said.
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
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
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
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
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