TRANSPORT
Maokong Gondola to reopen
The Maokong Gondola in Taipei is due to resume operations tomorrow following the completion of annual maintenance over a 19-day period, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The system has been closed since May 13. Most of the work was on the gondola’s cables and involved trimming, a process that took six days, TRTC said. Under the direction of on-site technicians from the French manufacturers, the cable between columns T17 and T18 was lowered to the ground by between 12 and 15 local maintenance workers for trimming, TRTC said. The cable is about 5.2cm thick and comprises six strands, which need to be separated before the cable can be trimmed, it said. The gondola has logged 22,500 operating hours since it opened in July 2007. Its first major overhaul was in May last year.
TOURISM
Boat owners get subsidies
The more than 100 diesel launches on Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) in Nantou County are to be replaced with electric boats over the next 14 years to help improve the environment and quality of service, the administration office of the national scenic area said. A subsidy program to encourage ferry operators and boat owners to convert from diesel to electric is to run until 2027, it added. Under the program, participants can receive a subsidy of up to NT$7.1 million (US$236,270) or less than 50 percent of the cost of rebuilding a boat or installing the required equipment. For example, the owner of the first boat covered by the program this year has received a subsidy of NT$6.1 million, the office said. The vessel, the Guo Yi No. 2, which started operating in February, is powered by lithium-ion batteries that only need to be recharged every eight hours. This allows about 12 round trips per charge, the office said.
WEATHER
Taipei feeling the heat
Temperatures in Taipei rose to 36.1oC yesterday, the highest recorded in the city this year, according to the Central Weather Bureau. The high in Taipei was recorded at 12:28pm, while the mercury rose to 35.9oC in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Banciao District (板橋) at 12:30pm. Temperatures at about noon in most areas across the nation ranged between 32oC and 34oC, the bureau said. Taipei’s all-time record-high temperature was 37.7oC, which was recorded on May 26, 1991, it added. Meanwhile, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan at 11:14am yesterday, the bureau said. The earthquake’s epicenter was at sea about 13.9km southeast of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 41.9km, bureau officials said.
SOCIETY
Lee not scared of dying
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said on Wednesday that when he dies he would like his ashes to be scattered on Yushan (玉山), the nation’s highest peak, so that he could always be a part of Taiwan. Lee, 90, said he is not scared of death because he sees it as returning to nature. Lee, who served as president from 1988 to 2000, made the remarks during a radio interview to promote his two latest books, in which he writes about his Christian beliefs and reminisces about his political career. Lee, who had surgery in 2011 for colon cancer, said he believes his time is almost up and he therefore decided to write the books to leave behind a record of his legacy.
ENVIRONMENT
Activists to protest fisheries
About 1,000 environmentalists and eco-friendly fishermen plan to rally at the Presidential Office on June 8, World Oceans Day, to highlight the problem of Taiwan’s depleted fishery resources, event organizers said yesterday. The government’s failure to push for ocean conservation and ban destructive fishing methods has endangered many marine species, Changhua Environmental Protection Union Chairman Tsai Chia-yang (蔡嘉陽) said. There are fishermen who break the law by overfishing using methods such as bottom trawling within 3 nautical miles (5.5km) of the coast, but there are others who follow the rules and are willing to stand up to promote responsible fishing for the sake of a sustainable livelihood, he said. To protect local fishing rights and Taiwan’s natural resources, the protesters will ask the government to set up a ministry responsible for ocean affairs, Tsai said.
CRIME
Pair sentenced in Dean case
Briton Christopher David Churcher and Taiwanese Tung Yu-chi (董玉琪) were yesterday sentenced to seven months and five month in jail respectively for helping convicted Briton Zain Dean flee the country in August last year. The prison terms can be commuted into fines, according to the verdict issued by the Taipei District Court. Churcher and Tung, Dean’s girlfriend, were indicted in March on charges of forging documents, violating the Immigration Act (出入國及移民法) and harboring a fugitive. Churcher was found to have lent his passport and Alien Residence Certificate to Dean. Tung helped apply makeup to Dean to disguise him and booked flights for him in Churcher’s name. Dean was sentenced by the Taiwan High Court to four years in jail after being convicted in July last year for killing a Taiwanese newspaper deliveryman in a hit-and-run.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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