■ Diplomacy
German lawmakers arriving
Leaders of a German parliamentary group will arrive in Taipei tomorrow, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday. Berlin-Taipei Friends Group chairman Klaus Rose and vice chairman Angelika Kruger-Leissner hope to learn more about Taiwan's political situation in the wake of the presidential election as well as the development of cross-strait relations, ministry officials said. The officials added that the Germans will meet with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) , Control Yuan President Fredrick Chien (錢復), Foreign Affairs Minister Eugene Chien (簡又新), Vice Minister of National Defense Lin Chong-pin (林中斌) and Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Huang Chieh-cheng (黃介正) before leaving on April 9.
■ Defense
US defends radar sale
The US on Thursday defended its planned sale of advanced radar systems to Taipei, saying they were merely to safeguard Taiwan's security. China had said it wanted to seek clarification from Washington over the deal. US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters that Washington had not received any "formal demarche" from Beijing but said that the early warning radars were "inherently defensive" and to enable Taiwan "to detect and react to missile attacks." He said that the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Tuesday about the sale of the two long-range radars, reportedly worth nearly US$1.8 billion. "We believe it will improve the overall security and defensive capability of Taiwan and that this sale does not affect the basic military balance in the region and is consistent with the United States law and policies," Ereli said. "We will continue to assist Taiwan in meeting its legitimate self-defense needs in accordance with our obligations" under the Taiwan Relations Act, Ereli said.
■ Education
Exams computerized
Participants in the national examination will now be able to get their results almost immediately after sitting the examination, thanks to the inauguration yesterday of a computerized examination center. Ministry of Examination Vice Minister Huang Ya-pang (黃雅榜), who concurrently serves as the convener of a national examination task force, said that participants in the examination will from now on answer questions on computers. Referring to concerns about anti-fraud measures employed by the computerized system, the Ministry of Examination officials said that they have taken advantage of the experience of other countries in preventing fraud when taking computerized tests for things like drivers' licenses and TOEFL certification.
■ Science
Inter-museum show set
The "Rhythms of Life" exhibition from Britain's Natural History Museum will open at the National Taiwan Museum in September, Taiwanese museum officials announced yesterday at a contract-signing ceremony. The "Rhythms of Life" exhibit is a wide-ranging display of graphic illustrations, rhythmic sound effects, museum specimens and models and magic shows. It is described as an informal and fun way to introduce visitors to the idea of the mysterious clocks that run the natural world and to show how humans interrupt the natural rhythms of nature.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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