WEATHER
Temperatures in north fall
Temperatures in northern Taiwan dropped by about 8°C yesterday from Saturday as a cold air mass arrived, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Highs in the northern parts of the nation, and also in Yilan County, ranged from about 18°C to 20°C, an approximately 8°C drop compared with Saturday, the CWA said. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said day-night temperature differences would continue today and tomorrow. Today, there is a high chance that the air mass would reach the levels of a continental cold air mass, meaning temperatures in some low-lying areas could dip to below 10°C, Wu said. Temperatures would start to climb back up after the cold air mass weakens on Wednesday and Thursday, before another is expected to arrive by Friday, he said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
SOCIETY
Eleven remain hospitalized
Eleven people injured in a deadly gas explosion at a Taichung department store on Thursday remain hospitalized, including a two-year-old girl from Macau who is in intensive care, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Saturday. The girl is being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) at China Medical University Hospital, it said, adding that four people are in ICUs at other hospitals, while the remaining injured are being observed in general wards. The girl underwent an emergency craniotomy — a surgical procedure in which a bone flap is temporarily removed from the skull to access the brain — due to severe brain injuries. The hospital yesterday said that she remained in the ICU as her condition was unchanged from Saturday and she was still in a coma. Two relatives of the girl — a 58-year-old woman and her 56-year-old husband — died after being hit by falling debris from the explosion when they were walking past the department store on a family trip to Taiwan. Four people were killed and 39 injured in the gas explosion.
TRAFFIC
Twenty injured in crash
A tour bus yesterday morning collided with a sedan and was rear-ended by another bus in Chiayi County, injuring 24 people, local authorities said. The Chiayi County Fire Bureau said that one of the two tour buses carrying religious pilgrims collided with a sedan in front of it near a red light at the intersection of highways 166 and 159. It was then hit by the second tour bus from behind. The drivers of the buses were suspected of not maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front of them, the bureau said. Three of the injured were sent to nearby hospitals.
DIPLOMACY
British delegation visits
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed a visit by a delegation of seven members of the British Parliament, led by Sarah Champion, cochair of the British-Taiwanese All Party Parliamentary Group and chair of the International Development Select Committee. The delegation arrived in Taiwan on Saturday. During their seven-day stay, they are to meet with President William Lai (賴清德) and visit former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), among other high-ranking officials, to exchange ideas on the nation’s political and economic situation, Taiwan-UK relations and regional security, among other issues, the ministry said. Other members of the delegation include British lawmakers Jeremy Purvis, Ben Spencer, Yuan Yang, Helena Dollimore, Noah Law and David Reed, the ministry said.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
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