SOCIETY
Woman fatally hit by train
A woman was yesterday hit by an arriving Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) train after she fell onto the tracks at Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung, and was later pronounced dead, the Railway Police Bureau’s Kaohsiung Precinct said. It received a report from the THSR station of a person falling onto the tracks shortly after the incident occurred at about 12:20pm. Emergency personnel quickly arrived at the scene, but said the woman showed no signs of life after efforts to resuscitate her failed, railway police said. The deceased’s identity and other details of the incident, including the circumstances that led to the woman ending up on the tracks, are being investigated, they said. Train services were not affected.
CRIME
Bribery suspects detained
Four more people have been detained over allegations of bribery relating to green energy projects, the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office said on Thursday. The four were active-duty and retired military personnel, identified by their last names Chang (張), Chen (陳), Hsu (許) and Yeh (葉). They are suspected of having colluded with a mediator, who is believed to have ties with a criminal gang, in soliciting bribes from green energy businesspeople, the office said. Working with the Investigation Bureau and Maritime Affairs Field Division, authorities on Tuesday raided 34 locations in Taichung, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and seized NT$1.3 million (US$40,114) in cash. Thirty-one people were questioned and some were granted bail ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$500,000.Prosecutors requested that Chang, Chen, Hsu and Yeh be detained and held incommunicado due to the risk that they could flee, collude or destroy evidence, which was approved by he Changhua District Court on Wednesday.
LEISURE
Free tours of new rail station
The Railway Bureau on Thursday said it is offering eight free guided tours of the rebuilt Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) Kaohsiung Railway Station on Dec. 28 and 29 to celebrate its completion at the end of the year. The tours, each with a maximum of 20 participants, are to provide a first look at the rebuilt station’s air-conditioning, ventilation, and water and electricity pipeline systems, which were previously closed to the public, the bureau said. Bookings would begin at 10am on Dec. 14, details of which are to be posted on the bureau’s Facebook page. During the 40 to 50-minute tour, visitors would be able to enter the underground central control room, from where tunnel smoke control and escape routes are monitored, and the signal system operating room and exit passageways at the end of the platforms, the bureau said.
ECONOMICS
Taiwan-Austria talk held
Taiwan and Austria held an economic dialogue aimed at deepening their partnership in technology innovation, semiconductor development and similar fields, the International Trade Administration (ITA) said on Thursday. The Taiwan-Austria Economic Dialogue, which took place via video conference on Wednesday, focused on enhancing collaboration in digital governance, life sciences, and research and development, the ITA said. ITA head and talks cohost Cynthia Kiang (江文若) said that Austria’s promotion of telemedicine aligns with Taiwan’s leadership in semiconductor and information technology. Austrian Directorate of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy head Elisabeth Weissenboeck said the partnership benefits both countries, as their economies are characterized by innovation and openness.
Thirty-five earthquakes have exceeded 5.5 on the Richter scale so far this year, the most in 14 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Facebook on Thursday. A large earthquake in Hualien County on April 3 released five times as much the energy as the 921 Earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, the agency said in its latest earthquake report for this year. Hualien County has had the most national earthquake alerts so far this year at 64, with Yilan County second with 23 and Changhua County third with nine, the agency said. The April 3 earthquake was what caused the increase in
INTIMIDATION: In addition to the likely military drills near Taiwan, China has also been waging a disinformation campaign to sow division between Taiwan and the US Beijing is poised to encircle Taiwan proper in military exercise “Joint Sword-2024C,” starting today or tomorrow, as President William Lai (賴清德) returns from his visit to diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a national security official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said that multiple intelligence sources showed that China is “highly likely” to launch new drills around Taiwan. Although the drills’ scale is unknown, there is little doubt that they are part of the military activities China initiated before Lai’s departure, they said. Beijing at the same time is conducting information warfare by fanning skepticism of the US and
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
DEFENSE: This month’s shipment of 38 modern M1A2T tanks would begin to replace the US-made M60A3 and indigenous CM11 tanks, whose designs date to the 1980s The M1A2T tanks that Taiwan expects to take delivery of later this month are to spark a “qualitative leap” in the operational capabilities of the nation’s armored forces, a retired general told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview published yesterday. On Tuesday, the army in a statement said it anticipates receiving the first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks from the US, out of 108 tanks ordered, in the coming weeks. The M1 Abrams main battle tank is a generation ahead of the Taiwanese army’s US-made M60A3 and indigenously developed CM11 tanks, which have
RSS