WEATHER
First snow falls on Yushan
Snow fell for the first time this winter, marking the latest arrival of the season’s first snow in 15 years, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. The snow was discovered by weather station personnel at about 5am on Yushan (玉山), the highest peak in Taiwan at 3,952m. The personnel said they were surprised, because overnight temperatures had not fallen below 0?C. Central Weather Bureau forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉昱) said that while the lowest recorded temperature on the ground was 0.8°C, there was sufficient moisture and low enough temperatures in the upper atmosphere to generate snowflakes. Taiwan usually sees its first snowfall on its highest mountains in December, Lin said, adding that the last time snow came this late was in the winter of 2000-2001, when first snow fell on Jan. 10, 2001.
ELECTIONS
Ballot reaches record length
The high number of political parties running in the legislative elections caused the ballot paper to reach a length of 73cm and a width of 15cm, the Central Election Commission said. Eighteen parties are vying for 34 at-large seats in the elections, the commission said, adding that it is the highest number of parties running in an election since the “single constituency, two vote” system was introduced in 2008. There were 12 political parties vying for at-large seats in 2008 and 11 in 2012, the commission said. Each voter is to cast three ballots in the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, one for a presidential candidate, one for a legislative candidate and one for a political party, which would determine how the at-large seats are distributed, the commission said.
SOCIETY
Taiwanese less happy
Taiwanese are feeling less happy, with the happiness index in the fourth quarter of last year dropping to a two-year low of 6.36, according to the results of a poll released last week. Since March 2012, Global Views Monthly magazine’s survey research center has been tracking the perceived happiness level of Taiwanese across different aspects of life on a quarterly basis. The latest poll questioned the respondents on overall well-being, health, satisfaction with living standards, social connectivity and income to gauge levels of self-satisfaction. The poll results showed Taiwanese’s self-satisfaction score stood at 6.36 points, down 0.1 points from the third quarter and a record low since 2013.
SOCIETY
Body found in valley
A 65-year-old man was found dead in a pool of water surrounded by rocks in a mountain valley in Pingtung County yesterday, local police said. The man, a resident of Laiyi Township’s (來義) Danlin Village (丹林), was reported missing on Saturday, police said, adding that an investigation has been launched. The man showed no vital signs when he was found at the bottom of a 15m deep valley. The man was last seen walking toward the entrance of an old hiking path in the mountains in search of a water source, police said, adding that he was found about 20 minutes’ walk away from where the path began. Separately, a car overturned in Pingtung County yesterday after skidding off the road while traveling northbound on the Provincial Highway No. 1. All five passengers in the car were rescued and sent to a nearby hospital where they were treated for minor injuries, police said.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
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