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.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
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