EARTHQUAKES
Quake hits eastern Taiwan
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan at 3:38pm yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said. The earthquake’s epicenter was 44.2km southwest of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 9.1km, on the border between Hualien and Nantou counties, bureau officials said. The strongest tremor, with an intensity of 4, was felt in Hong-ye Village (紅葉) in Hualien. Three moderate quakes shook the east earlier in the day, with the strongest one occurring at 4:29am. It measured 4.7, with the epicenter 57.8km beneath the sea, 15.5km southeast of the Taitung County Government, the bureau said. Before that, a magnitude 4 earthquake hit at 00:50am, with the epicenter 22.1km beneath the sea, 39km southeast of the Yilan County Government building, it said. An earthquake measuring 3.4 in magnitude also occurred at 3:14am, with its epicenter 22.1km beneath the surface, the bureau said.
DOCUMENTARY
Show highlights innovation
The nation’s achievements in industrial, agricultural and medical innovations are highlighted in a three-part documentary titled Taiwan Revealed produced by the Discovery Channel. The first episode focuses on industrial innovation and highlights examples such as the development of the world’s first transparent smartphone. It premiered in Taiwan on Monday and is to be replayed on Saturday. The second episode features agricultural innovation, including the use of coffee grounds to produce clothes that can remove odors and a water filtering device that can filter seriously polluted water, the channel said, adding that it would air on Monday. The third episode, which is still being filmed, will focus on issues such as minimally invasive surgery, Discovery said, and is set to air next year.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
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