■ WEATHER
More rain on the way
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) predicted another week of wet weather for the nation starting yesterday, with heavy rain warnings for residents in most parts of Taiwan from Thursday through Saturday. CWB meteorologists said the wet weather is a result of a cold front that has remained stagnant since moving across the nation over the weekend. They said the front is expected to move between the north and the south over the next week, bringing heavy rain to different parts of the nation. Residents should guard against heavy rain between Friday and Saturday, the forecast said. Temperatures across the nation will drop considerably from the highs of last week to between 21˚C and 30˚C in northern and central regions, 24˚C and 30˚C in the south, 17˚C and 28˚C in Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, the forecast said.
■ TRANSPORTATION
Kaohsiung MRT adds trains
Two late-night trains will be added to the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System’s north-sound Red Line schedule on a trial basis from tomorrow, the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) said yesterday. The two trains will leave simultaneously at 11:35pm from the Xiaogang (小港) Station — the last stop on the southern part of the Red Line — and from the Chiaotou (橋頭) Station in Kaohsiung County — the northernmost stop on the route. The system currently ends its daily operations at 11pm. The trains will stop at every station on the Red Line, the company said, adding that the trains will operate for one month. The late-night trains are expected to satisfy the needs of employees who are on night shift at nearby companies, such as the China Steel Corp (中鋼) and the Nanzih (楠梓) Processing Zone, the KRTC said. The KRTC said it may consider amending its Red Line schedule if the late-night train operation receives positive feedback from Kaohsiung residents.
■ POLITICS
Last Cabinet posts named
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Kao Su-po (高思博) will be appointed Minister of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, sources said last night. Former KMT legislator Wu Ying-yih (吳英毅) will be named minister of the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, while minister without portfolio-designate Tsai Hsun-hsiung (蔡勳雄) will also hold the post of governor of Taiwan Province. Secretary-general elect of the Executive Yuan Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) will also serve concurrently as governor of Fujian Province (Kinmen and Lienchiang counties).
■ RESCUE
Search continues for diver
Coast guard forces continued their search yesterday for a diver who went missing in waters off Ilan County the day before. Huang Hsin-fa (黃信發) was diving with five other divers in waters about 6.5km east of Suao Port when he went missing. After Huang failed to resurface following the one-hour dive, the captain of the dive team tried in vain to locate him underwater. The captain of the Taiping, which the divers took on their expedition, then radioed coast guard forces stationed in Suao for assistance. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) dispatched three rescue vessels and a helicopter after receiving the emergency call, but were unable to locate Huang. Yesterday morning, the CGA asked the Ministry of the Interior’s National Airborne Service Corps to assist in the search.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
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