As rescuers struggled to save people still trapped in the ruins of the collapsed Weiguan Jinlong building in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康) amid a cold snap, volunteers set up soup kitchens nearby to provide hot food for rescue workers and relatives of the missing.
The Central Weather Bureau forecast that nighttime and early-morning temperatures in most parts of the nation would dip below 10°C until tomorrow.
Kuo Cheng-chang (郭政樟) and eight members of his family were distributing free bowls of hot pot and noodles to first responders, who eagerly lined up for something hot to replenish their energy after hours of working in the cold.
The proprietor and chef of a hot-pot restaurant in Tainan, Kuo said he and his sister left their family restaurant in the hands of their employees to handle a fully booked Lunar New Year’s Eve.
“I do not know how to save people, but I know a lot about making a good stew. This is the part where my professional skills can help,” he said.
“My stoves will be kept on for as long as there is a rescue operation. I am keeping everybody fed and warm, regardless of costs,” he said.
Other volunteers began arriving at the site on Saturday to provide aid and succor to the rescue workers and police officers.
A restaurant owner on Saturday set up a temporary kitchen that provided 500 servings of the traditional holiday pork stew known as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳牆) to rescue workers, while a charity group distributed hot baozi (包子) buns.
Volunteers from groups as well as individuals also distributed hand warmers and heat pads to police officers stationed at checkpoints to maintain a cordon and traffic control around the collapsed building.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
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