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.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS