TRAVEL
Bullet train hits goat
A train heading from Taipei to Kaohsiung was delayed by 15 minutes on Tuesday after hitting a goat that had inexplicably found its way onto the high-speed rail’s tracks, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said. No damage or casualties were reported in the accident, except for a minor injury suffered by the animal, a company spokesman said. The incident took place at 4:03pm near the line’s 103km marker in Miaoli County’s Zaociao Township (造橋), when the train driver discovered that he had hit a “foreign object,” which was later found to be a goat, the spokesman said. The driver stopped the train immediately to assess the situation, making sure the train was not damaged before continuing the journey, he said. As a result, the train reached its destination 15 minutes later than its scheduled arrival time of 5:06pm. THSRC will look into how the animal found its way onto the tracks, which are protected by fences. The goat has been returned to its owner.
SCIENCE
Forensics king Yang dies
Locally renowned forensics expert Yang Ri-song (楊日松) died yesterday of colon cancer at the age of 84, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said. Yang, sometimes described as “Taiwan’s Sherlock Holmes,” worked in the field of forensics for almost 50 years and served as a consultant at the Institute of Forensic Medicine after he retired. A graduate of National Taiwan University College of Medicine, he conducted tens of thousands of dissections and became a legend by solving some of the nation’s most bizarre murder cases. Colleagues praised Yang as the nation’s most important pioneer in forensic science. Yang’s family expressed the desire for a low-profile funeral, the bureau said.
SAFE SUPPLY: Drone shipments from Taiwan help Polish companies mitigate disruption from China, which scaled down its sales to European countries Poland has become the biggest buyer of drones from Taiwan as the eastern European country, on Russia’s doorstep, bolsters its defense capabilities and seeks to reduce reliance on Chinese parts. Poland is now absorbing almost 60 percent of Taiwan’s drone exports, which expanded this year to about US$32 million through last month, from almost nothing in the previous years. The next-largest importer of Taiwan’s drones is the US, to which Taiwan sold about US$7 million worth in the same period. Taiwanese drone maker Ahamani said Polish demand was so great it was planning to open a factory there, and that other foreign
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
Taiwan’s Tiffany Queen (鄭宥筠) on Saturday drew wide attention at the Miss International Queen pageant in Thailand for her outfit inspired by elements of Taiwanese folk culture. Although she did not place at the competition, considered the world’s largest transgender beauty contest, attendees described Queen’s outfit as “dazzling,” capturing the audience’s attention when she took the stage. The costume, modeled after the general guards (將軍守) seen in Taiwan’s temple processions, featured a hand-painted mask, a tall headdress and a trident, all symbols of spiritual authority and the power to ward off evil. The guards are regarded as protectors in Taiwanese folk belief,
The New Taipei District Prosecutors' Office yesterday indicted Luxshare Precision Industry Co chairwoman and CEO Grace Wang (王來春) and three others for contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例). The billionaire businesswoman and cofounder of the China-based electronics manufacturer used a Hong Kong subsidiary in 2018 to acquire a division of Liteon Technology Co, a Taiwanese company, prosecutors said. Wang then sought to register it as an overseas Chinese-invested company, but was rejected by the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Investment Commission because its funding involved Chinese capital, prosecutors said. After the rejection, Wang
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