■ Environment
Stricken ship shifted
An Indonesian ship that ran aground off Kenting National Park last July was removed recently after more than a month of work, park administration officials said over the weekend. The 40-tonne vessel ran aground near Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) after being caught in a typhoon. The hull was seriously damaged and the vessel was unable to continue its voyage to Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the officials said that wreckage of a Greek freighter that had also run aground had sunk off nearby Lungkeng, posing a threat to the marine ecology in the area.
■ Transport
Inspectors check bullet train
Nine inspectors from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications began an inspection of the 5km-long high speed rail section between Banciao (板橋) and Taipei yesterday. Pang Chia-hua (龐家驊), director-general of the Bureau of High Speed Rail, said yesterday that inspectors first visited the high speed rail station in Taoyuan where they were briefed by Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) staff. Inspectors then boarded the bullet train from Taoyuan with other regular passengers. After passengers alighted at the station in Banciao, inspectors stayed on the train as it continued its journey to Taipei Main Station. The inspectors are expected to present a report by tomorrow. Regarding poor sales of full-priced tickets, Pang said the bureau would consider asking the THSRC to set different prices for trains operating during peak and off-peak hours.
■ Society
COIP outlines language plans
The Council of Indigenous People (COIP) will move forward a six-year program for the revitalization and development of Taiwan's Aboriginal languages this year. COIP education and culture section chief Wang Chiou-i (汪秋一) said that to maintain an Aboriginal tribal language it must be spoken by at least 75 percent of the tribe. He noted that many Aboriginal tribes are facing language crises, with only senior citizens using the traditional tongues. Wang added that the government needs to speed up measures to save these languages. The program covers several measures to regenerate Aboriginal languages, including enacting relevant statutes, setting up an organization to compile dictionaries and language teaching materials, training teachers, creating language immersion environments, using high-tech teaching tools, establishing a certification system for language proficiency and encouraging the learning of folk songs.
■ Health
Tests confirm leprosy case
A foreign worker from Indonesia has recently been diagnosed with leprosy, making him the first leprosy case reported in Taiwan this year. Chung Wen-hung (鐘文宏), a dermatologist at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that half of the patient's face was covered with rashes when he sought treatment at the hospital, and tests confirmed that he was suffering from leprosy. Chung said a Vietnamese woman married to a Taiwanese man was diagnosed by the hospital as suffering from leprosy last year and that both patients could have come to Taiwan while the disease was incubating. Shih Wen-yi (施文儀), deputy director-general of the Center for Disease Control, said the nation has, on average, reported less than 10 cases of leprosy per year in recent years, all of which have been imported in cases involving foreign workers or foreign spouses from countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as