■ 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.
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