SEISMOLOGY
Hualien displaced by quake
Hualien County reported the nation’s largest geological displacement after the April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, global navigation satellite system data showed. The East Coast National Scenic Administration office moved horizontally 32.7cm, while Shoufeng Railway Station rose in elevation 39.3cm, data showed. The National Land and Mapping Center launched a survey of basic control points following the earthquake, which contained 247 points, 138 of which showed significant differences from the previous survey, they said. The geological displacement in Hualien and the Central Mountain Range are more apparent when compared with data collected in 2020: Hualien has moved 43.8cm horizontally and 49.1cm vertically in the past four years, it said.
WEATHER
Heavy rain expected
Parts of the nation should be prepared for heavy rain from today as a large low-pressure belt in the Western Pacific Ocean is expected to approach Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Whether it would become a tropical depression or a tropical storm was not yet clear, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said. Occasional brief rain is expected in southwestern Taiwan, Keelung and other northern coastal areas today and tomorrow, while areas south of Chiayi County and mountainous areas south of Miaoli County are likely to see heavy rain, he said. Afternoon thundershowers would be more widespread, Yeh added.
CRIME
Teacher fined for abuse
An elementary-school music teacher has been ordered by a court to pay NT$6.77 million (US$206,296) as compensation for physically and verbally abusing a student. The teacher, surnamed Liu (劉), had repeatedly slapped the student in the face, hit him on the head, legs and genitals with drumsticks, and verbally abused him, the Taipei District Court said. The boy started experiencing dizziness, abdominal pain and persistent diarrhea starting in April 2019, the ruling said. He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and showed symptoms of dissociative, conversion, anxiety and psychosomatic disorders due to the abuse, it added. The parents of the victim filed a civil lawsuit against Liu for compensation of more than NT$7 million. The court in October 2022 handed Liu a jail sentence of four years and six months, which he has appealed. The case is ongoing at the Supreme Court.
CULTURE
Taiwanese artists chosen
Two Taiwanese artists, Juan Po-yuan (阮柏遠) and Jung Hsu (徐容), have been selected as resident artists at the Lithuanian cultural center SODAS 2123, where they would spend two months producing art, the Ministry of Culture said. The project is partially funded by the ministry and began accepting applications in March, the ministry said. Juan’s work has elements of online gaming and 3D imagery, is influenced by the post-Internet era and focuses on video games, cyberspace and cyberqueer — ways in which LGBTQ+ people use, navigate and experience the Internet and digital technologies. Meanwhile, Hsu triumphed in the “Interactive Art+” category at the Prix Ars Electronica 2022, an honor she shared with Colombian artist Natalia Rivera for “Bi0film.net: Resist like bacteria,” which was an interactive artwork aimed at empowering protesters and inspired by the 2014 “Umbrella movement” in Hong Kong.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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