■ Transportation
MRT traffic to top 2.5 billion
The total passenger traffic of Taipei's mass rapid transit (MRT) system is expected to top 2.5 billion early this month, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp announced over the weekend. The figure will represent a 25-fold increase since the system's passenger traffic reached 100 million on Dec. 22, 1998, company officials said. For the second consecutive year, Taipei's MRT system was rated by University of London's Railway Technology Strategy Center as the most reliable system among the world's 25 major metro systems last year, they said. According to Deputy Taipei Mayor Chen Yu-chang (陳裕璋), while the section of the MRT system that is currently in operation totals 76km, another 76km are under construction and 250km are under planning. After all these projects are completed, the density of the MRT network will be similar to that of other major metro systems in the world, he said.
■ Society
Foreign spouses join contest
More than 60 foreign spouses of Taiwanese, dressed in the traditional costume of their countries, took part in singing and oral reading competitions yesterday in Taichung City at an event organized by the Cabinet to help foreign spouses learn Mandarin or local dialects. Lin Feng-hsi (林豐喜), executive director of the Cabinet's Central Taiwan Joint Services Center, said singing and reading are helpful ways to learn a foreign language. In this regard, the center has organized various singing and reading-oriented courses and activities for foreign spouses to help them blend into the local culture. Foreign spouses play an increasingly important role in the country, with one out of every five newlywed couples involving intermarriage and one out of every 6.5 babies born to foreign mothers -- mostly from China and Southeast Asian countries.
■ Transportation
Chen lauds Kaohsiung MRT
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) lauded the Kaohsiung mass rapid transit (MRT) system as better than its Taipei counterpart after taking a test ride yesterday. Chen, accompanied by acting Kaohsiung Mayor Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) and Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp chairman Chiang Yao-tsung (江耀宗), rode an 8km section of the red line between Far Eastern Department Store and Hsiaokang. Yeh said that 20,000 people had taken the test ride on the same section, with more than 95 percent expressing satisfaction with the smooth travel. The MRT's red and orange lines are scheduled to be inaugurated at the end of next year. Chiang, who previously worked for the Taipei rapid transit system, said that the Kaohsiung MRT system has been efficient and that the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model of construction has saved the government NT$44.4 billion (US$1.34 billion). The cost of personnel is also cheaper and more jobs have been created, Chiang added.
■ Leisure
Vote for model villages
The Council of Agriculture urged the public to take part in an online selection of the nation's top 10 model fishing and farming villages for the chance to win big prizes. The selection will run until Feb. 28, and the public is invited to visit the 20 qualified villages -- culled from an initial screening of 50 villages -- on the council's Web site, a council spokesman said. The council will inspect the 20 villages and the results will be combined with the online vote for a final ranking that is slated to be announced in March, the spokesman said. Those who take part in the voting could win prizes ranging from a tour to digital cameras and MP3 players.
A domestically developed “suicide drone,” also known as a loitering munition, would be tested and evaluated in July, and could enter mass production next year, Taiwan’s weapons developer said on Wednesday. The yet-to-be-named drone was among nine drone models unveiled by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Tuesday. The drone has been dubbed the “Taiwanese switchblade” by Chinese-language media, due to its similarity to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which has been used by Ukraine in counterattacks during Russia’s invasion. It has a range of more than 10km, a flight time of more than 15 minutes, and an electro-optical
GOOD INFLUENCE: Kwan said his mother tutored him at home for a few years, saying that she had to protect his ‘creativity’ as his writing had suffered Director and coproducer of the Oscar-winning absurdist comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once Daniel Kwan (關家永) on Sunday dedicated the movie to his Taiwanese mother, who he said supported his creativity growing up. “She is someone who sacrificed a lot for her kids,” Kwan, 35, said backstage at the Oscars. The movie, released early last year, received a commanding 11 nominations at the Academy Awards, and won seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, with whom he also directed the 2016 fantasy film Swiss Army
HYGIENE KEY: The CDC reported two cases of enterovirus 71, which can cause serious complications, and as there have been no recent outbreaks, children are not immune Two cases of enterovirus 71 (EV71) were reported last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that it was a warning sign, as the virus has not been detected for more than a year. Parents are advised to remind their children to practice good hand hygiene, it said. Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉), director of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Center, said that 165,230 people visited a hospital for diarrhea last week, which is a high number. Most of the diarrhea case clusters were caused by norovirus infection, but there were also enterovirus cases, and weekly caseloads are slowly increasing, Guo said. Most of
A bipartisan US congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan yesterday on a two-day visit that is to include meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior government officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The delegation comprises Republican US representatives and Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ken Calvert, Tom Cole, Dave Joyce and Mike Garcia, as well as Democratic US Representative Ed Case, the ministry said in a news release. Upon their arrival at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), the five representatives were welcomed by North American Affairs Department Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典), it said. During their visit, they are to meet
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