DIPLOMACY
US criticizes Beijing
The US Department of State on Thursday expressed concern over changes to China’s M503 flight path, saying the US was opposed to any unilateral changes to the cross-strait “status quo” by either side. In an e-mail response, a department spokesperson said the US urged Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in “meaningful dialogue” with Taipei. “Issues related to civil aviation and safety in the Taiwan Strait should be decided through dialogue between both sides,” the spokesperson said. The Civil Aviation Administration of China on Tuesday announced that it was canceling an “offset” of its north-south M503 flight path agreed with Taiwan in 2015. As a result, the flight path, used mostly by Chinese airlines, but also some foreign airlines on flights between China and Southeast Asia, would revert to its original status, coming as close as 4.2 nautical miles (7.8km) to the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
WEATHER
Cold weather to remain
Taiwan is forecast to see cooler weather continue through today due to strengthening northeasterly winds, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Northern Taiwan can expect highs of 20°C to 23°C, a major drop from about 30°C in Taipei and New Taipei City on Thursday, CWA forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) said. The cold air is expected to be relatively mild, with lows of 17°C to 19°C forecast nationwide through today, Chang said. Brief showers can be expected in parts of northern Taiwan and the eastern half of the country, as well as the Hengchun Peninsula today, he said. Temperatures are forecast to begin to rise as the wind system weakens tomorrow, while brief showers are forecast to continue in some areas, he added. Cool weather is expected to return next week with the arrival of a cold front, Chang said. The mercury is forecast to plummet to as low as 13°C to 14°C in central and northern Taiwan in the early morning on Thursday, while other areas could see lows of 16°C, he said. The cold front is expected linger until Saturday next week to Sunday, during which time lows of 11°C to 12°C could be experienced in the north.
CULTURE
Sheeran arrives in Taiwan
British singer Ed Sheeran on Thursday arrived in Kaohsiung for his concert scheduled for today. The concert at the National Stadium is part of the singer’s ongoing “Mathematics Tour” to promote his sixth album, -, and seventh album Autumn Variations, according to organizers Kuang Hong Arts. After his arrival, Sheeran spent some time sightseeing in the city and posted Instagram stories of various locations, including the Pier-2 Art Center (駁二藝術特區) and the inflatable yellow ducks at Love River Bay. His last performance in Taiwan was his 2019 “Divide World Tour” show in Taoyuan. Today’s concert is to be opened by British singer Calum Scott at about 7pm, and Sheeran is to take the stage at about 8pm, according to the Kuang Hong Arts Web site. Eyeing the economic boost the concert could bring, the Kaohsiung City Government has launched a program whereby fans can receive coupons by showing their concert tickets. The coupons, worth NT$50 each, can be picked up until tomorrow at six metro stations — Formosa Boulevard, Zuoying, Kaohsiung Main Station, Sanduo Shopping District, Kaohsiung Arena and Yanchengpu — and can be used until April 30, the Kaohsiung Economic Development Bureau said.
Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom. Recounting their ordeal, one victim on Monday said she was asked by a friend to visit Thailand and help set up a bank account there, for which they would be paid NT$70,000 to NT$100,000 (US$2,136 to US$3,051). The victim said she had not found it strange that her friend was not coming along on the trip, adding that when she
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
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