ASTRONOMY
Lunar eclipse to occur
A total lunar eclipse is to take place in the nation on Saturday, producing the most visible “blood moon” since the one in October last year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said yesterday. It said the eclipse would begin before the moon rises at 6:04pm on Saturday and last until about 8:45pm. The moon is expected to appear copper in color as it becomes fully obscured by the Earth’s shadow between 7:54pm and 8:06pm, the museum said, adding that the 12-minute episode would be the shortest of its kind in the nation in the 21st century. The public would see a bright full moon turn a reddish hue, hence the nickname “blood moon,” the museum said. However, moon watchers would only be able to see part of the eclipse; they would not be able to see a total lunar eclipse in full progress until Jan. 31, 2018, the museum said.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Japan products rejected
Another 478.2kg of food products from areas in Japan affected by the 2011 nuclear disaster have been discovered at Taiwanese customs, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. The seven shipments of food items cannot be allowed into Taiwan and are to be returned to Japan, the FDA said. The FDA imposed a ban on food products from the Japanese prefectures of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant melted down in March 2011, and contaminated parts of those regions with radioactive substances. However, health authorities recently discovered that some food imports from the areas have made their way into the nation by having place of origin information on their packaging covered by Chinese-language stickers showing a different point of origin. As of noon on Friday, the Atomic Energy Council said it had tested 422 food items from the five Japanese prefectures, and none had been found to be radioactive.
TOURISM
National park visitors rise
Kenting National Park had 8.16 million visitors last year, making it the most-visited national park in the nation last year, according to government statistics released on Friday. Taroko National Park was the second-most popular with 6.28 million visitors and Shoushan National Park was third with 4.69 million visitors, the Ministry of the Interior said. There are currently nine national parks and one national nature park. The 10 parks had a combined 28.28 million visitors last year, an increase of 3.79 million from the previous year, the ministry said. Taroko National Park and Kenting National Park saw the biggest increase in visitors last year, with visitor numbers rising by 1.5 million and 1.1 million respectively.
TRANSPORT
MOU signed with US state
Taiwan and the US state of South Carolina have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on driver’s license reciprocity that allows license holders from each side to obtain a local license without having to take local tests, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday. The MOU was signed earlier on Friday and took immediate effect, the ministry said in a statement. Under the agreement, residents in South Carolina with a Taiwanese driver’s license are allowed to waive written and driving tests to receive a South Carolina driver’s license, while South Carolina drivers can obtain a license issued by Taiwan. South Carolina is the 10th US state to sign an agreement on driver’s license reciprocity with Taiwan.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
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