CRIME
Executive indicted over fire
Launch Technologies Co chairman Liu An-hao (劉安皓) and five other executives have been charged with negligent homicide over the deaths of 10 people in a fire on Sept. 22 last year, the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. The company was earlier fined NT$2.4 million (US$76,793) for failing to fully disclose the contents of the golf ball factory in Pingtung, including nearly 3 tonnes of illegally stored organic peroxides. Among those killed by the blaze and subsequent explosions were four firefighters, who were not provided the necessary rescue information by Launch Technologies, investigators said. The company also failed to assign a person to the site to assist the fire commander in accordance with the law, they said. Liu, along with general manager Lu Ying-cheng (呂英誠) and an assistant vice president surnamed Cheng (鄭) had been indicted on charges including causing death and injury through negligence, prosecutors said. Liu, Lu and Cheng have been ordered to post bail of NT$6 million, NT$5 million and NT$4.5 million respectively, they said.
SOCIETY
Tree trimming draws fire
Extensive trimming of a 1km stretch of Madagascar almond trees along a road in Taitung’s Luye Township (鹿野) yesterday drew criticism, although the local government defended it as necessary. Photos of the scenic roadway — known as a “green tunnel” — were widely shared in local media yesterday, showing the trees’ branches cut back into leafless knobs left barely protruding from their trunks. A farmer whose field borders the roadway said the trees needed to be periodically trimmed so they would not block crops’ access to sunlight or spread debris when a typhoon hit. “Tourism is important, but you also have to consider farmers’ livelihoods,” he said. Luye Township Mayor Lee Wei-shun (李維順) said the trees need to be cut back quite aggressively, as their roots can damage roadside gutters and pavements if they are left unchecked.
TRANSPORTATION
Taichung to add Blue Line
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said it had approved plans to build a new Blue Line on the Taichung Metro, but it would take an estimated 10 years before it is opened to the public. The new line would cost NT$161.51 billion (US$5.17 billion), with the central government providing NT$67.56 billion, the ministry said in a statement last night. The Blue Line is to begin at the Port of Taichung and travel eastward through Shalu (沙鹿) and Situn (西屯) districts before arriving in central Taichung. It will intersect with the Taichung Metro’s other existing line, the Green Line, and provide a major boost to the system’s service capacity and the balanced development of the city’s urban and rural sectors, the ministry added.
EARTHQUAKES
Two quakes strike Hualien
Two earthquakes measuring 5.2 and 4.9 in magnitude struck Hualien County at 2:11am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenters of the temblors were in Hualien’s Wanrong Township (萬榮) at a depth of 5 to 13km, the Seismology Center said. The earthquakes’ intensity was highest in Hualien’s Guangfu Township (光復), where it measured a 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quakes also reached level 3 in parts of Hualien and Nantou counties, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
PUBLISHING
Benesse to limit print
Benesse, publisher of the educational children’s magazine series featuring the cartoon tiger Chiao-Hu (巧虎), yesterday issued a notice that it would stop accepting new subscriptions for its print edition from March 1. About 1.83 million families with children have subscribed to the monthly magazine since it launched in Taiwan in 1989. The decision to stop accepting new subscriptions was based primarily on changes in print-based reading habits, the evolution of educational content and in response to climate change, it said. Benesse said the magazine would continue to be published for existing subscribers, and that its other Chiao-Hu products and services in Taiwan, including learning materials, a YouTube channel, cartoon series, stage show and Taoyuan amusement park, would remain available.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its