INCIDENT
Two dead after explosion
An explosion at Juei Feng Aluminium Co’s plant in Kaohsiung yesterday morning has left two Thai workers dead and six others injured. The Kaohsiung Fire Bureau said eight workers were rushed to local hospitals after the explosion at 8:23am. One of the workers, 37, was declared dead upon arrival, while a second, a man in his 50s, was found without vital signs, and declared dead after attempts to revive him failed, officials said. Of the remaining six injured, one was still being treated by doctors, three were recuperating in hospital, and two were discharged. Kaohsiung’s Labor Affairs Bureau said the cause of the explosion was still under investigation, but that moisture is thought to have come into contact with molten aluminum due to a faulty control system. The bureau has ordered Juei Feng to suspend operations and fined the company NT$300,000 for contraventions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法).
WEATHER
Nation saw highs of 32°C
Central and southern Taiwan saw daytime highs of 32°C and 27°C to 29°C in northern and eastern Taiwan yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.Warm and sunny conditions are forecast to continue into tomorrow, with daytime highs of 30°C and lows of at least 20°C across Taiwan, the CWA said. North and northeastern Taiwan is to become cooler on Tuesday due to the effects of a passing front and strengthened northeasterly winds, with a chance of rain, it said.
DIPLOMACY
Kaohsiung gets new sister
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and Pristina Mayor Perparim Rama on Friday signed a sister city agreement at the Kaohsiung City Government, making Kaohsiung Pristina’s first Asian sister city and the Kosovar capital Kaohsiung’s 39th sister city. Taiwan and Kosovo have faced similar challenges on their paths toward freedom and democracy, and this makes it even more meaningful that Kaohsiung and Pristina have become sister cities, Chen said. The Kosovar delegation was in Taiwan from Monday to yesterday for the Smart City Summit and Expo. Rama said he enjoyed the visit, adding that the two cities have collaboration potential in areas including technology, smart cities and the start-up industry. There is a mutual wish to foster a close partnership, he said.
CROSS STRAIT
Taiwanese fisher returned
A Taiwanese man, surnamed Wu (吳), and his fishing boat were handed over to the Kinmen Coast Guard by Chinese officials yesterday, while a second Taiwanese was still being held by China after the two were detained by the China Coast Guard in Fujian Province’s Weitou Bay on Monday. The Kinmen County Government said the handover was completed at 12:10pm with the 40-year-old Wu successfully disembarking at Liaoluo Port in Kinmen at 1pm. However, the second man, a 25-year-old surnamed Hu (胡), was still being held by China having failed to inform the authorities he is an active-duty soldier, and officials are further investigating the situation, the Chinese State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office said. The Coast Guard Administration said Hu and Wu, who are residents of Jinsha Township (金沙), Kinmen County, encountered heavy fog on March 17 while fishing and inadvertently drifted into waters near Quanzhou, China, where they were found by the China Coast Guard. The Kinmen County Government said it would continue to communicate with Chinese officials in the hope that Hu could be returned as soon as possible.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
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