SEISMICITY
Two earthquakes unrelated
Two earthquakes that occurred yesterday morning in eastern Taiwan were unrelated, with the first one being an aftershock of the April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurred at 1:10am yesterday, 9.8km north-northwest of Hualien County Hall, CWA data showed. The temblor had a depth of 13.1km and the intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, was level 4 in Hualien County, Nantou County, Yilan County and Taichung. A second earthquake happened at sea at 8:32am, 47.2km south-southeast of Yilan County Hall, the CWA said, adding that the magnitude 4.9 earthquake was at a depth of 18.8km and had a maximum intensity of level 4 in Yilan County. The second earthquake was associated with seismic activities in the Heping Sea Basin off Yilan County, the CWA said. There had been 1,493 aftershocks since the April 3 earthquake as of 9am yesterday, it said. Aftershocks measuring magnitude 5 or above might continue to occur in the next one to two months, the CWA said. The frequency of the aftershocks is decreasing and that has shown no sign of changing, it said.
SPORTS
Ministry of sports announced
President William Lai (賴清德) on Friday announced that the government is planning to establish a new ministry of physical education and sports development and would allocate an annual budget of NT$20 billion (US$617 million). The ministry, which Lai proposed during his inauguration speech on May 20, aims to promote sports for all, boost the industry, and encourage the hosting of international events in Taiwan, he said at the opening of the Taiwan Athletics Open. The initiative would allow Taiwanese athletes to improve their skills by having more opportunities to compete with top international athletes, and enable local sports fans to watch world-class competitions, Lai said. The two-day event at Taipei Stadium on Friday and yesterday saw a gathering of top international athletes in Taiwan.
SOCIETY
Fire being investigated
A preliminary investigation indicated that a short circuit in a power cable might have caused a fire at an apartment complex in Hsinchu City on Sunday last week, which claimed two firefighters’ lives, the city government said. The fire likely originated from a power cable in the basement, it said, citing the findings of an investigation by the city’s Fire Bureau. Comprehensive details on the cause of the fire would not be available until the report is finished, it said. A bureau official said that investigators found smoke exhaust dampers open in the building’s safety stairwell, suggesting they were functional when the fire first broke out. However, the smoke exhaust fan might have stopped working later when the cable burned, preventing it from transferring electricity when the backup power generator turned on. The fire at the apartment complex comprising four 28-floor buildings was reported at 10:55pm on Sunday last week with the blaze largely brought under control about 40 minutes later. Some children were rushed to a hospital after inhaling smoke, and two firefighters were found dead in a stairwell after they earlier reported they were running out of oxygen while trying to rescue people.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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