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.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
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