■ Earthquake
Quake measures 5.4
An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale jolted northern Taiwan at 9:06pm last night, the Seismology Center said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The quake's epicenter was 38.9km northeast of Suao (蘇澳). The strong quake sent residents in Suao and other nearby townships rushing to the streets in panic. "It was a shallow tremor with a depth of just 1.8 kilometers, making the impact more obvious," said a center spokesman. The quake came hours after a weaker 4.6-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter 26km northwest of Peinan village (卑南) in the southeast.
■ Defense
China not holding drills
A Ministry of National Defense official said yesterday that the ministry has not detected any signs of large-scale military exercises on China, contrary to local media reports. According to ministry spokesman Liu Chih-chien (劉志堅), July is usually the time when land troops of the Chinese military undergo sea training, but there are no signs that massive maneuvers are currently taking place on Dongshan Island -- the usual site for these exercises. Liu urged the media not to misinterpret military activities in China. Liu was responding to a report that the People's Liberation Army has recently sent troops to Dongshan in preparation for the annual military exercise.
■ Crime
Chen backs drug crackdown
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that he will throw his full support behind the Cabinet's efforts to prioritize a crackdown on illicit narcotics to improve law and order. Chen made the remarks over a lunch with several of his advisers. He said statistics show that burglary, abduction, extortion, organized crime and indecency have affected the public most and that all of them are closely related to narcotics. If criminal cases related to drugs can be effectively controlled, it will immediately improve law and order, he said. Chen also said that the sharing of needles among drug addicts is the major cause of the rapid spread of AIDS in Taiwan so cracking down on narcotics has become a major issue in strengthening disease control and public health, and even ensuring national security.
■ Society
Zoos to improve ties
Taipei Zoo director Chen Pao-chung (陳寶忠) signed a pact with his counterpart at the Wroclaw Zoological Garden in Poland yesterday to step up technical exchanges between the two zoos. Speaking at the ceremony, Wroclaw Zoo director Antoni Gucwinskiu said that his zoo has decided to donate a pair of European otters to the Taipei Zoo as a gift for forging cooperative ties. The otters are scheduled to arrive in Taipei by the end of the year after completion of the quarantine procedures, Gucwinskiu said.
■ Health
Young people skip breakfast
Younger people tend to miss breakfast more often than other age groups, according to the results of a survey released yesterday by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). The survey found that the younger a person is, the more likely he or she is to miss breakfast. Among respondents aged between 15 and 24, 22 percent of them miss breakfast on weekdays, with the ratio rising to 37 percent on weekends. Those aged above 65 tend to be most regular in terms of breakfast, with a ratio as high as 96 percent on average. The DGBAS said that medical reports show that missing breakfast can affect a person's energy and concentration.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS