ENTERTAINMENT
Hikaru Utada to perform
Japanese-American pop star Hikaru Utada has announced plans to perform in Taiwan for the first time in her more than 25-year career. Utada became more popular in Taiwan after her song First Love was used as the theme song for a Japanese drama of the same title that aired in 2022. The dates and the location of her performance have yet to be revealed. Separately, Japanese pop girl group Perfume is to perform at the Taipei Music Center on July 6. The group is returning to Taiwan after five years and would be the first Japanese girl group to perform at the venue. Meanwhile, Wheein of the South Korean girl group Mamamoo has announced an extra concert at the Taipei International Conference Center on April 21 after her show on April 20 sold out almost immediately.
Photo courtesy of Sony Music Taiwan
COMMUNICATIONS
No Starshield ban: SpaceX
Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) on Monday said that it is “in full compliance with all of its US government contracts” in response to a letter from US Representative Mike Gallagher alleging that SpaceX was withholding its Starshield Internet service from Taiwan. Gallagher, chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, on Saturday sent a letter to Musk concerning Starshield, which provides the US government with a secure satellite network. “Multiple sources have disclosed to the Committee that Starshield is inactive in and around Taiwan,” the letter said. “Ensuring robust communications networks for US military personnel on and around Taiwan is paramount for safeguarding US interests in the Indo-Pacific region.” The letter was first reported by Forbes magazine.
Photo courtesy of Gorgeous Entertainment
TRAFFIC
NT$10m to go to three kids
Donations of more than NT$10 million (US$316,756) have poured in for three children hit by a vehicle in Changhua County last week, the county government said on Monday. An account for donations set up by the county closed at 12pm on Monday, and the money received would go to a trust to pay for the children’s medical treatment, rehabilitation and daily needs, it said. The three siblings, surnamed Chen (陳), were crossing a pedestrian walkway on Thursday last week when they were hit by an SUV driven by an unlicensed 73-year-old man surnamed Hsiao (蕭). Show Chwan Memorial Hospital said the eldest, 10, who has serious brain damage, has become responsive to light reflex tests. Her blood oxygen and blood pressure levels, as well as heart beat, have returned to normal. The younger sister, 8, had severe pneumothorax intracranial hemorrhaging. She is on one vasopressor to maintain vital signs, whereas she needed three before Monday, a doctor said. The brother, 7, had only minor bruises and is resting at home.
POLITICS
Tsai’s holdings ris, Lai’s drop
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cash holdings increased by NT$3.53 million (US$111,815) to nearly NT$63 million last year, a Control Yuan asset declaration report published yesterday showed. Tsai had NT$62,981,136 in her bank accounts, the report dated Nov. 1 last year showed, up about NT$3.53 million from her November 2022 filing. She also declared part ownership of land in Taipei and New Taipei City. She declared NT$4.13 million in securities, including NT$1.1 million in Tong Dao Co, a company owned by her family, the report said. Tsai also leased land to Tong Dao for NT$90,000 per month. Meanwhile, Vice President William Lai’s (賴清德) assets declined by about NT$340,000 to NT$2.15 million, the report showed. Lai, the president-elect, declared ownership of a plot of land and a property in Tainan. He also owns a Toyota vehicle and NT$2.15 million in savings, dropping by about NT$340,000 from 2022.
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
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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