■ TRANSPORTATION
Use of public transport rising
Ridership on Taipei’s public transportation systems, including the MRT and city buses, will reach 1.2 billion by the end of this year, up from 1.1 billion last year, Taipei Department of Transportation Commissioner Luo Shiaw-shyan (羅孝賢) said yesterday. As oil prices increase and the economy remains in a recession, more people are choosing to take buses or the subway instead of driving, he said. The percentage of car drivers in the city this year dropped to 16 percent, compared with 20 percent last year, he said. The percentage of motorscooter riders rose to 34 percent, from 29 percent last year, Luo said, adding that more people were likely driving scooters because they were cheaper to drive than automobiles. But the number of people riding scooters could drop because of difficulties in finding parking space, he said.
■ SOCIETY
Store elevator traps 15
An elevator malfunction in the Far Eastern Department Store in Banciao (板橋), Taipei County, trapped 15 customers for an hour yesterday before they were rescued. The elevator stopped between floors at 3:50pm as it was rising from the B2 level to B1. The trapped passengers pressed the emergency button and waited for rescue. The fire department said it planned to break down the doors to free the customers, but fearing there might have been more people in the elevator than maximum capacity allowed, elevator mechanics had to secure the car’s position first. The mechanics were able to pry open a narrow opening after 20 minutes and remove two children. After the car’s position was secured, firefighters were able to force open the doors and free the remaining 13 people. Each trapped customer was given a NT$500 gift certificate by the store as an apology. The store said the elevator underwent routine maintenance, and the cause of the malfunction was under investigation.
■ SPORTS
Kaohsiung backs baseball
Kaohsiung City’s Education Bureau has drawn up a plan to boost baseball in the city, bureau Director-General Tsai Ching-hwa (蔡清華) said yesterday. The bureau had reached a consensus with the National University of Kaohsiung last month to establish a college of sports at the school and the university had agreed to organize a team to take part in the Major League of College Baseball, she said. Other plans included establishment of a kids’ baseball team in each of the city’s 11 districts, renovation of the Lite Baseball Field and providing stipends for 20 coaches, the bureau said. Kaohsiung has about four to five youth baseball teams and two junior baseball teams, but the city government wants teams at all school levels. The plan will cost NT$36 million (US$1 million) annually, the bureau said.
■ CRIME
Cannabis farm raided
Police found a cannabis farm in a mountain area in Hsinyi Township (信義), Nantou County, on Saturday. The 2,425m² farm was believed to be the largest of its kind ever found in Taiwan, with 1,500 plants, police said. Six hundred plants had already been dried into marijuana. With a market price of NT$200,000 per kilogram, the plants had a market value of more than NT$30 million, police said. Police received a tip about the farm a couple of days ago. Ten officers raided the farm on Saturday morning, and nabbed four people as they slept in a tool shed. The cannabis plants were 2.5m tall on average, rather than the normal 1m, the police said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by