For Shi Chao-yang and his new wife Junko Yamamoto, September was an ill-fated month. The newlyweds died in the collapse of the Tunghsing building in Taipei following the 921 earthquake.
After their bodies were discovered in the rubble of the Tunghsing building, a reporter told Off the Beat:
"The couple registered their marriage in Taipei in July, and decided to have their wedding banquet on Sept. 19, to take advantage of the auspicious day -- many newspapers noted that the numbers 9/19/99 had a special significance for people who wanted to get married that day, since the number "9" carries the meaning of "long lasting" when spoken in Mandarin. Around 1,000 couples tied the knot or hosted wedding banquets that day across Taiwan.
"One of those couples was Junko and Chao-yang. They had plans to go to Japan later this year for a traditional Japanese marriage ceremony hosted by Junko's parents.
"When their bodies were found, a search-and-rescue worker found a wedding invitation in Japanese in the pocket of one of Chao-yang's sports jackets.
CORRECTION
In yesterday's Off the Beat, we incorrectly stated that a 38-year-old US national was killed in the 921 earthquake in Tsaotun village, Nantou County. The deceased, Lynn McGinty, was a 49-year-old British national. Her body has already been returned to Britain.
E-mail stories to:
offthebeat@taipeitimes.com
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS