TRANSPORTATION
Signal fault delays trains
More than 1,000 rail passengers were delayed yesterday morning because a switch signal near Taipei Railway Station went out of order. The incident, which was reported at 6:40am, forced the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) to run trains between Taipei and Songshan (松山) stations on just a single track. The agency said the switch was located on underground track near Taipei Railway Station, adding it was difficult for its maintenance crew to repair the signaling system because the light inside the tunnel was dim and the switch’s connecting rod was at the lowest point of the railway track. The agency said it decided to replace the connecting rod. The maintenance crew also discovered by using magnifiers that there were cracks on the weld points on the connecting rod, which were believed to have been caused by natural degradation of the parts. Two-way operation on the line between Taipei and Songshan stations was resumed by 8:03am. The incident delayed 11 trains and affected 1,050 passengers.
AGRICULTURE
Chiayi man is ‘banana king’
A Chiayi County banana grower won the title of “banana king” yesterday for his ability to grow high-quality bananas. Liu Jui-yuan (劉瑞源), who has been growing the fruit for about half a century, was named champion in a contest organized by the Jhuci Township (竹崎) Office. More than 40 growers participated in the contest. Liu bags his bananas as they grow to protect them from insects rather than use pesticides. He also credits his use of soybeans as fertilizer for his exceptionally sweet and tasty bananas. Lin Chien-ming (林建明) and Chiu Chuang-ta (邱創達) took second and third places respectively in the contest. Each hand of bananas weighed more than 20kg. The heaviest was 42.5kg. Experts determined the winning fruit by evaluating their appearance, weight, aroma, color, taste and sweetness.
SOCIETY
Divorce statistics released
Thirty percent of the couples that divorced last year had been married for less than five years, according to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior on Saturday. The statistics show that 53,599 couples divorced last year, down 4 percent from the previous year. The ministry said that those who had been married for less than five years accounted for the most divorces, at 30.6 percent, followed by those who had been married between five and nine years (24.4 percent). The number of divorces decreased with the increased number of years married, the statistics showed. The ministry said that between 1998 and 2001, an average of 50,567 couples divorced per year. Between 2002 and 2006, the number increased to 63,230 couples, but between 2007 and last year, the number dropped to 56,612.
SPORTS
Lin attends Taoyuan camp
Taiwanese-American NBA star Jeremy Lin (林書豪) attended a basketball camp sponsored by China Airlines in Taoyuan County yesterday to play basketball and share his experiences with children. Lin, who was recently traded by the Houston Rockets to the Los Angeles Lakers, spent one hour as a special coach with 30 students from Jong Jen Elementary School and Kuihui Elementary School, including players who won the national Youth Basketball Championship last year. Lin also answered questions from the children about his experiences in the NBA. Lin is scheduled to participate in a program for GOOD TV and other PR events this week.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard