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.
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
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
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
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
RSS