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.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
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