ASTRONOMY
Skygazers to see eclipse
A total solar eclipse is to occur on Wednesday, but skygazers in Taiwan are only to be able to see a partial eclipse, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said yesterday. The total eclipse is to last for 3 hours, 22 minutes from 8:16am to 11:38am, the museum said. However, the total eclipse will only be visible for two to four minutes from the Pacific and parts of Indonesia, including Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi, according to the museum, with the sun being 20 percent obscured by the moon during the event. In Taipei, the eclipse is to begin at 8:19am, reach its maximum point at 9:14am and end at 10:15am, the museum said.
TRAVEL
Avoid militants: ministry
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday advised against traveling to regions in Indonesia where militants are active, in light of a possible attack in the Southeast Asian nation. The high-risk regions include Central Sulawesi, Papua and West Papua, the ministry said. Travelers should also pay extra attention while traveling in Indonesia’s bustling metropolitan areas, the ministry said. The ministry issued the warning after the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Feb. 25 published a travel advisory on its Web site, in which it said “recent indications suggest that terrorists may be in the advanced stages of preparing attacks in Indonesia.” The ministry currently maintains a “yellow” travel alert for Indonesia, which warns people to exercise caution and to review whether they should travel to the affected area.
EDUCATION
NCCU to start new program
National Chengchi University (NCCU) on Thursday said that it plans to introduce a new undergraduate program in Southeast Asia studies next year due to growing economic ties between Taiwan and the region. University vice president Wang Jenn-hwan (王振寰) said that many of the university’s alumni who are conducting business in Southeast Asia have mentioned their need for talent with knowledge of Southeast Asian languages, economics and culture. After careful consideration, the university decided to launch the program and has submitted related plans to the Ministry of Education for review, Wang said, adding that the program is expected to start recruiting students next year. University secretary general Wang Wen-chieh (王文杰) said that Taiwan has great demand for talent familiar with Southeast Asia due to flourishing economic exchanges between Taiwan and the region and an increase in the number of new immigrants and foreign workers.
TOURISM
Japanese city seeks agents
Tosashimizu City on Japan’s Shikoku Island is offering students from a local university the chance to serve as its tourism ambassadors in a bid to attract Taiwanese tourists. Tosashimizu Mayor Mitsunobu Hijiya on Wednesday signed an internship cooperation agreement with the Taipei City University of Science and Technology, offering students a chance to serve as tourism ambassadors. Hijiya said the city has spectacular natural beauty, while the inauguration of direct air links between Taipei and Takamatsu, also on Shikoku Island, has helped boost the number of visitors from Taiwan. The students are to receive a ￥140,000 (US$1,230) internship allowance and are to be provided with accommodation, as well as transportation between Taiwan and Japan. More than 3 million Taiwanese visited Japan last year.
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
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
BACK TO WINTER: A strong continental cold air mass would move south on Tuesday next week, bringing colder temperatures to northern and central Taiwan A tropical depression east of the Philippines could soon be upgraded to be the first tropical storm of this year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the next cold air mass is forecast to arrive on Monday next week. CWA forecaster Cheng Jie-ren (鄭傑仁) said the first tropical depression of this year is over waters east of the Philippines, about 1,867km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Nokaen by early today. The system is moving slowly from northwest to north, and is expected to remain east of the Philippines with little chance of affecting Taiwan,
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
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