HEALTH
Snake sightings rise
There were 13 reports of snake sightings in Taipei on Wednesday and Thursday last week, and in nine instances the snakes were caught, the Taipei City Fire Department said on Sunday. The department said it received 10 reports on Wednesday and three the following day. Following up on the reports, the fire department said, it caught nine snakes, including a 2m-long big-eyed rat snake in Tianmu (天母) and Taiwan habu vipers, turtle-designed snakes and red-banded snakes in Nangang (南港) and Beitou (北投) districts. Snakes that have been in hibernation regain energy and look for food during spring and summer, the department said. They will attack people only if they feel threatened, it said. Anyone who spots a snake should contact the fire department immediately.
SOCIETY
Car falls into sea, kills three
It was a night of tragedy for a family of four when their car went off the road and fell into the sea in Anping Harbor (安平港), Greater Tainan, on Sunday, killing three passengers and leaving the other seriously injured. The 37-year-old driver, surnamed Wu (吳), was cruising the harbor with his wife and two sons, aged eight and 10, when the car veered off the road and fell into the sea, a witness said. The witness reported the crash to firefighters who pulled the four from the water and sent them to three different hospitals. Wu and his two sons were pronounced dead, while his wife, surnamed Huang (黃), was still in a coma in an intensive care unit as of noon on Sunday, hospital staff said. Wu’s mother said she believed he was exhausted from late-night driving and that had caused the accident. Prosecutors will investigate the cause of the crash, the Tainan coast guard said.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
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
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
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