SOCIETY
Driver crashes into 7-Eleven
A learner driver in Miaoli County crashed into the front of a 7-Eleven convenience store after mistaking the vehicle’s gas pedal for the brake, local authorities said yesterday. The Miaoli Police Bureau’s Toufen Precinct said that the 25-year-old man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was practicing driving with his mother on Sunday on Yongzhen Road in Toufen City (頭份), when at about 3pm, Chiu pulled into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven. Rather than apply the brakes, he accidentally stepped on the accelerator, causing the vehicle to lurch forward into the store’s front glass windows. No one was injured, as the seating area where the windowed shattered was empty, police said. Chiu, who tested negative for alcohol, was fined NT$18,000 for driving without a license. He must also compensate the store for damages, police said.
SEISMOLOGY
Quake shakes Chiayi County
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County in southern Taiwan at 3:51am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the quake was 41.8km east-northeast of Chiayi County Hall in Meishan Township (梅山) at a depth of 12.3km, CWA data showed. Its intensity, which measures the actual effects of a seismic event, was the highest in Chiayi County, Chiayi City, and neighboring Yunlin and Nantou counties, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in nearby areas, including Tainan, Taichung and Changhua County. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries following the quake. Aftershocks are not expected, CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) said. The quake was a “fracture zone earthquake” caused by tectonic collisions and therefore unlikely to cause aftershocks, he said. The earthquake was “unrelated” to the Meishan (梅山) fault, a geological feature closely associated with the 1906 Meishan earthquake — the nation’s third-most deadly seismic event — which resulted in the deaths of about 1,260 people, he said. In April, Wu said that a Meishan fault earthquake had not occurred in more than 120 years, so the “accumulated potential energy is indeed worth paying attention to.”
SOCIETY
Tainan hosts 500-table feast
The Tainan City Government on Sunday hosted a nearly 500-table banquet featuring dishes showcasing the city’s cuisine. The large-scale indoor feast at the International Conference Center represented the culmination of “Tainan 400,” a series of cultural events organized by the government to promote the city. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) welcomed guests at the banquet, tickets for which were advertised at NT$1,200 per diner. Four renowned Taiwanese chefs collaborated on the menu — Wang Yi-yung (汪義勇), Shih Tsung-jung (施宗榮), Hung Chun-nan (洪俊男) and Kuo Yu-hung (郭育宏). It leaned heavily on classic Tainan flavors. The dishes included “Tainan-style Buddha jumps over the wall” (a rich soup), “Shaohsing sea prawns” and “Oily grouper” (a sea bass dish). Entertainment was provided by Dutch opera singer Martin Hurkens and a guzheng (古箏) musical ensemble from Tainan National University of the Arts. A guzheng is a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument. Organizers originally planned to serve only 400 tables, each seating 10 diners, but high demand for tickets led them to increase the total number of tables to 488.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
The Civil Aviation Administration yesterday said that it is considering punishments for China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines for making hard landings and overworking their cabin crew when the nation was hit by Typhoon Kong-rey in October last year. The civil aviation authority launched an investigation after media reported that many airlines were forced to divert their flights to different airports or go around after failing to land when the typhoon affected the nation on Oct. 30 and 31 last year. The agency reviewed 503 flights dispatched by Taiwanese airlines during those two days, as well as weather data, flight hours
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
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