DIPLOMACY
New EU envoy takes office
Newly appointed EU Representative Lutz Guellner has taken office, the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) said on social media on Wednesday. Despite being geographically distant, “Taiwan and the EU are like-minded partners,” Guellner was quoted as saying. “We want to further strengthen our friendly relations and close cooperation with Taiwan,” said Guellner, who assumed his role as the head of the EETO on Sunday. Guellner, who previously served in the European External Action Service as the head of the Division for Strategic Communications, Task Forces and Information Analysis, was tapped as the new EU envoy in April. Taiwan is the career diplomat’s first posting outside Brussels, the EETO said. He succeeded Filip Grzegorzewski, who departed from his position in July after a five-year stint.
TRAVEL
AirAsia unveils Sabah flights
AirAsia is to begin offering four weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Kaohsiung to Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) from Nov. 17, the low-cost carrier announced yesterday. Tickets are now available, making it the only direct flight between Kaohsiung and the East Malaysian state of Sabah, AirAsia said in a statement. AirAsia Taiwan marketing manager Wang Mu-fan (王慕凡) said that Sabah is known for its stunning natural beauty and cultural diversity, offering attractions such as Mount Kinabalu, tropical rainforests, world-class diving, and a rich fusion of Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine, promising an unforgettable experience for southern Taiwanese travelers, Wang said. AirAsia is offering promotional one-way fares starting at NT$399 for flights between Nov. 17 and March 28 next year, which can be booked until Sept. 15. The route is AirAsia’s 12th in Taiwan.
SOCIETY
Factory fire extinguished
Forty-five vehicles and 77 firefighters were dispatched to put out a factory fire in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林) yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it dispatched firefighters to subdue the flames at a two-story factory unit on Xizun Street after receiving a report at 12:23pm. Thick, billowing smoke was reportedly seen as far away as New Taipei City Hall in Banciao District (板橋). The blaze was brought under control at 1:25pm and fully extinguished at 1:35pm, a social media post by the department said. No one was killed or injured in the fire, the cause of which had yet to be determined. The department urged residents living near the burning factory to temporarily close the doors and windows of their homes, and wear surgical masks when going outside to reduce the risk of respiratory and eye discomfort.
CULTURE
Choir to hold four concerts
The Vienna Boys’ Choir is to perform in Taiwan next month featuring a repertoire that includes Taiwanese rock band Mayday’s song Contentment (知足), organizer Ars Formosa Co Ltd said on Wednesday. The Vienna Boys’ Choir, which is made up of four separate choirs named after famous Austrian composers, is set to send its Haydn Choir to Taiwan, Ars Formosa head Chou Tun-rern (周敦仁) told a news conference at the National Theater in Taipei. The Haydn Choir would be led by Hong Kong conductor Jimmy Chiang (曾智斌). The choir is to hold four concerts: on Oct. 17 at Tainan Cultural Center, on Oct. 18 at National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) Concert Hall, on Oct. 22 at the National Concert Hall in Taipei and on Oct. 23 at Taipei Zhongshan Hall.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
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