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.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
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