SPACE
China rocket launch today
China is to launch a rocket carrying a satellite that would likely fly over Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) today, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. It would be one of at least a dozen satellites launched by China in the past two years with a flight path over Taiwan or its ADIZ, but none of them have threatened Taiwan’s security so far, as the rockets have usually left the atmosphere by the time they pass over Taiwan. Since earlier this year, the ministry has routinely issued information about such launches, in what it said is an effort to keep the public informed about China’s activities in the vicinity of Taiwan. The ministry said the satellite would be launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China’s Sichuan Province. The rocket’s flight path would take it toward the western Pacific and over Taiwan’s ADIZ, it said.
CRIME
Deepfake victims win suit
The High Court ruled on Wednesday that two Taiwanese YouTubers found guilty of creating nonconsensual deepfake pornography using the likenesses of real people must compensate their victims for a total of NT$1.85 million (US$56,630). The ruling allows for an appeal. The six Internet celebrities who filed a civil lawsuit against Chu Yu-chen (朱玉宸) and his assistant Chuang Hsin-jui (莊炘睿) would each receive between NT$200,000 and NT$500,000 in emotional distress compensation, the court said. The criminal part of the case was finalized earlier this year, with Chu and Chuang sentenced to five and four-and-a-half years in prison respectively.
CULTURE
Floating library opens
The Doulos Hope, a floating bookshop operated by the German-based Christian charity GBA Ships, opened to the public in Kaohsiung on Wednesday as it began its three-city tour of Taiwan. The former cruise ship docked at Kaohsiung Port’s Pier 8 is stocked with more than 2,000 books on a range of topics, including 320 donated by the Ocean Affairs Council. The Doulos Hope is to be in Kaohsiung until Jan. 12, Hualien from Jan. 16 to Feb. 2 and Keelung from Feb. 6 to March 9, the council said. It is open to the public from 1pm to 8:30pm every day except Tuesday. Visitors are required to book in advance online at https://gbaships.littleboxoffice.com. Tickets cost NT$50, with free admission for children aged six or under and people aged 65 or above.
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
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