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.
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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