■ Tourism
Train service resumes
The Alishan train service, which has been suspended since the March 1 derailment that left 17 people dead and another 170 injured, will resume today, Council of Agriculture Vice Chairman Tai Chen-yao (戴振耀) announced yesterday. Following a series of examinations and repairs to the damaged section of the narrow-gauge railway, a test run was conducted yesterday. The train left Chiayi Station for Alishan yesterday morning without any trouble and returned from Alishan safely later in the day. A mechanic has been charged with neglecting to open an air valve connecting the braking system of the carriages, resulting in brake failure of the four-carriage train that lead to the accident. Two drivers and the chief attendant of the train also face the same charge.
■ Defense
Minister to warn of buildup
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has conspic-uously intensified its combat preparedness in coastal regions over the past year, according to a report to be delivered by Minister of Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) to the Legislative Yuan today. During the past year, the report says, the PLA's frogmen troops deployed in coastal areas have been upgraded into amphibious forces capable of carrying out landing, loading and unloading missions while equipped with the gear needed to take and hold a beach. At the invitation of the Legislature's National Defense Committee, Tang will present the report analyzing the latest situation regarding the PLA and its threat to the country. According to the report, the PLA naval exercises have been focused on joint-forces combat operations, missile attacks and aggressive drills, aimed mainly at intensifying the navy's landing capabilities.
■ Transportation
Ministry undecided on flights
The Ministry of Transport-ation and Communications (MOTC) has not proposed that future charter flights across the Taiwan Strait be exempted from having to land en route at a third place, a senior ministry official said yesterday. "This proposal was broached by the airlines," Vice Minister Tsai Duei (蔡堆) said, adding that the MOTC has not yet decided whether to include the idea in the ministry's evaluation report on the indirect cross-strait charter flights that ran during the Lunar New Year holiday. Tsai was responding to a newspaper report that claimed the ministry has proposed allowing indirect cross-strait charter flights to make a detour that would avoid the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait without having to land in a third place.
■ Defense
Special task force set up
The Ministry of National Defense has set up a special task force to monitor the situations in Iraq and North Korea, according to a ministry report released yesterday. The report, to be presented to the Legislative Yuan's National Defense Committee today, says the ministry has also stepped up contacts with foreign military authorities and has expanded its intelligence sources in the face of a looming US-led war in Iraq. In addition, the Yunghsing task force is keeping in close touch with the nation's overseas offices and foreign military representatives stationed in Taipei to exchange early-warning intelligence. To cope with terrorists, the report says, the military has forged a combined services command mechanism to tackle any emergencies.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
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