WEATHER
Quake an aftershock: CWA
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has walked back its previous statement that the magnitude 6.3 earthquake which struck off eastern Taiwan on Friday was an independent event, saying it was actually a major aftershock of the massive earthquake which shook Hualien in April. The CWA’s preliminary observation had indicated that the epicenter of Friday’s temblor was 34.2km southeast of Hualien County Hall, with a depth of 9.7km. However, the agency amended its report on Friday afternoon, revising the location further west to 23.78°N, 121.71°E, and the depth to 19.36km, after conducting further analysis. The new epicenter is 4.22km from the location of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that rattled Hualien County on April 3, while the original epicenter reported on Friday morning was 15.63km from that of the Hualien quake.
ARTS
Old Fox selected for Oscars
The Ministry of Culture on Wednesday said Old Fox has been chosen as Taiwan’s submission for best international feature at the Academy Awards next year. The movie stood out from 14 Taiwanese films for being a “fable of the social classes amid social change and drastic economic impact of late 1980s Taiwan. It gives a profound analysis of humanity with its motif, narration, layout and subtle depictions of daily life,” the ministry said in a news release. Directed by Hsiao Ya-chuan (蕭雅全), the film’s narrative is from the perspective of a young boy living with his poor father as he navigates the struggles between the worldliness and kindness of humanity, the news release said. Inspired by his own childhood, Hsiao reproduced the period’s zeitgeist and reflected on his experience during that time, it added. Hsiao won the Best Director award for the movie at the Golden Horse Awards last year. It also bagged the Best Supporting Actor award for Akio Chen (陳慕義), Best Original Film Score and Best Makeup and Costume Design awards. The film has also won accolades at several international film festivals, the ministry said.
SPORTS
Drone soccer arrives
The Puli Junior High School’s annual summer camp this year introduced children the to sport of drone soccer, a technological sport that has become popular. The sport has not only entertained and taught the children how to pilot drones, but also familiarized them with drone regulations, school authorities said. The sport is beginning to take off in Taiwan, and teams from the nation have already placed fourth in a drone soccer competition held in South Korea this year, and first and second place in the junior high school category at the Unmanned Aviation Systems Application Carnival Tournament this year, they said. The sport requires precise navigation of drones in a three-dimensional space, participating students said, adding that the players also need to acclimate themselves to putting a “spin” on their drones as defensive or aggressive tactics. Overall, it is a sport that demands a high degree of cooperation, the students said, adding that it was rare for students to learn about an international sport currently in vogue. Drone soccer features two teams, each composed of at least three players who control a drone with protective anti-collision cages to defend the team’s designated goal, the Pilot Institute said. Each game consists of three sets, each lasting three minutes, with the designated “striker” of each team seeking to navigate their drone into the opposing team’s goal zone, the institute added.
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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