■ Society
Second cave-in in Kaohsiung
Another cave-in occurred at a Kaohsiung rapid transit construction site yesterday afternoon. The incident occurred at the intersection of Jhongjheng Road and Jhongshan Road in Kaohsiung City. This time, the cave-in was approximately 50mm deep and 3m in diameter. A serious sinkage occurred last week at the intersection of Jhongjheng Road and Tashun Road in the city. The subsidence resulted from the construction of a reservoir well in the area, which suddenly experienced massive water seepage. Efforts were made to strengthen the surrounding area to prevent an expansion of the problem, but this, the most serious engineering setback in the system's construction and reconstruction efforts could cost up to NT$500 million (US$15 million).
■ Cross-strait
Corpse lands in Kinmen
Because of strong northeastern monsoon winds during the winter, large amounts of garbage regularly float across from China's Fujian coast to Kinmen and pollute the island's waters. But fishermen got a surprise this week as among the latest garbage to float ashore from China was a corpse. Authorities from China's Fujian Province yesterday identified the body, which floated into Kinmen's waters on Nov. 24, as the captain of a fishing boat surnamed Jiang. He and his crew fell into the water as they sailed the boat along the Fujian coast on Nov. 17. The Kinmen Coast Guard was notified about the incident by Kinmen fishermen. The Coast Guard then fished the body out of the water and took it to Kinmen's funeral parlor. Kinmen prosecutors yesterday said they will conduct an autopsy to learn whether or not there was any foul play involved in Jiang's death.
■ Society
Alliance lists reforms
A local alliance promoting constitutional reform yesterday unveiled a list of human-rights issues that the group believes should be addressed in the next phase of reforms. The list, released on Human Rights Day, covers areas such as equality rights, liberty rights, social rights, asylum rights for foreigners, and the right to resistance. Alliance convener Hung Yu-hung (洪裕宏) said the list was compiled by constitutional law professors based on suggestions put forth by more than 50 member organizations of the alliance. In response, Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋), head of the constitutional reforms office at the Presidential Office, said he welcomes the efforts made by the alliance and hopes that the public will offer their support for the reforms.
■ Defense
Talks on helicopters: report
The government is talking to US-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp about buying transport helicopters for search-and-rescue operations, Jane's Defence Weekly reported. In an article posted on its Web site on Thursday, the defense magazine said the air force was in talks to buy an unknown quantity of S-92 Helibus medium transport helicopters. The Ministry of National Defense said yesterday it doesn't comment on military procurement issues. Defense deals are a sensitive topic because of tensions with China. The state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp is a member of Sikorsky's Team S-92, an international consortium of six countries involved in the manufacturing of the S-92. The Taiwanese company produces the helicopter's cockpit, Jane's said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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