FISHING
Crew overpowers pirates
The crew of a Taiwanese fishing vessel fought against armed pirates off the coast of Somalia to retake their ship after it was hijacked off East Africa, authorities said yesterday. The 290-tonne Ching Yi Wen, registered in Greater Kaohsiung, with a crew of 28, including nine Chinese, eight Filipinos, six Indonesians and five Vietnamese, had been out of contact since Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. However, the crew managed to overwhelm the six armed pirates and retake control of their ship. “In my memory, this is the first time sailors of a fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates have freed themselves on their own,” Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Tsay Tzu-yaw (蔡日耀) said. The pirates fell into the sea, Tsay said, quoting the fishing boat owner, adding that details of the saga and the fate of the six pirates were not immediately clear. Tsay said three sailors were slightly injured and the ship was heading for waters off the Seychelles.
WEATHER
Wet weather forecast
A northeast monsoon could bring intermittent rainfall to northern and eastern parts of the country today, according to the Central Weather Bureau. The chances of rain in northern and eastern Taiwan could increase today and a stronger monsoon front and mist from the south later could cause the rain to last for several days, the bureau said. Central and southern Taiwan could also see some rain as a result, the bureau added. The monsoon brought cooler temperatures in the north, with daytime temperature estimated to have dropped yesterday to 29?C from Saturday’s high of 33.5?C. However, temperatures in central and southern parts of the country are estimated to remain above 30?C, with steady afternoon showers likely in the mountainous regions over the next two days, the bureau said.
ENVIRONMENT
Bird numbers up in Kenting
The number of Chinese goshawks and gray-faced eagles stopping at Kenting National Park every autumn as they migrate south during the past 10 years increased from the previous decade, an indication that conservation efforts have been successful, said Tsai Yi-jung (蔡乙榮), a research fellow at the park’s Department of Conservation headquarters. The park began counting the number of migrating birds passing through the area 23 years ago, Tsai said. Every year since then, investigators have been deployed in the park from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 to calculate how many of the birds pass through on a daily basis, he said. This autumn, nearly 120,000 Chinese goshawks and more than 45,000 gray-faced buzzard eagles arrived in Kenting on their way south to winter, the eighth and second-highest totals respectively, Tsai said.
SOCIETY
Inventors shine in Poland
A Taiwanese delegation was one of the big winners at this year’s International Warsaw Invention Show, which ended on Saturday, with 49 gold medals, 39 silver, 17 bronze and five special awards, the Chinese Innovation and Invention Society (CIIS) said yesterday. Among the 19 countries that participated, Taiwan has one of the best showings, taking a total of 110 awards, said Wu Chih-yao (吳智堯), secretary-general of the CIIS and leader of the delegation. One of the group’s winning inventions was a solar-powered tissue box with a screen that displays the number of tissues remaining. Another winner was a solar-powered manhole cover that is capable of zapping mosquitoes.
‘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 High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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