TRANSPORT
Record numbers use MRT
About 1.74 million people used the Taipei MRT on average each day last year, setting a record high in the rapid transit system’s 18-year history, according to the latest ridership statistics. The daily number — a quarter of the total population of Taipei and neighboring New Taipei City — represents a ridership increase of 5.7 percent from 2012, thanks in part to the opening of the new east-west Xinyi (red) line in November, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said. The MRT began operations in March 1996 with the opening of the Wenshan, or Muzha, (brown) line. Currently, the system operates seven lines stretching across the greater Taipei area. Government statistics indicate that average daily ridership on all rail transport nationwide rose 5.4 percent last year to 2.659 million passengers.
SOCIETY
Blood stock dangerously low
The Taipei Blood Bank called for blood donation as it said on Friday that it had less than 5 days worth of blood in storage, primarily in shortage of Type-O blood. The center said it saw a 30 percent decrease in blood donors after the Lunar New Year holidays. Donation division head Huang Ku-ying (黃谷鶯) said a “safe” amount of reserves was typically between seven to 12 days, Huang said, adding that as Type-O blood held the majority, it was also the type that was running low. However, Huang said people with colds should not donate, and people should assess their physical condition before going to donate blood. Call (02) 2897-1600 or visit www.tp.blood.org.tw for more information.
DIPLOMACY
Library system donated
Taiwan on Friday donated an automated library system to the Mapua Institute of Technology in the Philippines, saying it hopes to step up exchanges with the neighboring country. At the handover ceremony at the institute in Manila, Taiwan’s Deputy Representative to the Philippines Chang Tai-lai (張泰來) said the system uses high-tech equipment to trace book loans and returns and conduct inventory. The system is designed to reduce the workload of librarians and the time spent checking books in and out. Reynaldo Vea, president of the Mapua Institute of Technology, thanked Taiwan for the donation and said he hopes that with the assistance of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, his institute will be able to engage more with higher learning institutions in Taiwan.
TRAVEL
Ecuador still on gray alert
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintained its gray travel advisory to Ecuador after the country’s Tungurahua volcano erupted at least three times over the previous weekend. One of the most active volcanoes in Ecuador, Tungurahua is about 140km south of the capital, Quito. The volcano erupted three times on Feb. 1, spewing ash about 8km into the air that spread over the five neighboring provinces of Azuay, Bolivar, Tungurahua, Chimborazo and Canar. The ministry said that because the volcanic eruptions did not affect Quito or Quayaquil, the largest city, it decided to maintain a gray travel alert for the country. However it advised Tungurahua and Chimborazo should be avoided. The ministry has a four-color travel alert system, with red the highest level of alert, followed by orange, yellow and gray. Gray is a reminder to tourists to pay extra attention to safety issues.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods