■ENVIRONMENT
Bike subsidies continue
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday announced that it would continue to provide subsidies for new electric bicycles through next year. The move — which also includes measures for simplifying the application process — is aimed at reducing the amount of gas-powered scooters on city streets. The subsidy offers NT$3,000 to the purchase of such bicycles.
■BUSINESS
Israeli delegation to visit
An Israeli delegation of information and communication technologies (ICT) and new media companies will visit Taiwan next week to explore cooperation and business opportunities with Taiwanese firms, the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei said yesterday. Headed by the director of the high-tech division in Israel’s Export and International Cooperation Institute, the delegation of executives from 10 Israeli companies will arrive on Monday for a two-day visit.
■CULTURE
Military singer to perform
A Chinese military singer attached to an elite unit in charge of missiles and nuclear weapons will perform in Taiwan this week, she said on her blog yesterday. “I hope to deepen cultural and artistic exchanges across the Taiwan Strait,” said Chen Sisi (陳思思), of the Second Artillery Corps under the People’s Liberation Army. The performance by Chen, immensely popular in China for her folk songs, will take place at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on Saturday, the hall’s Web site said. Chen’s status as a member of the armed forces made her application for an entry permit to Taiwan “much more complicated” and took nearly a year to finalize, she told TVBS news channel. Chen reached a global audience in last year’s Beijing Olympics closing ceremony.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
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