TRANSPORT
NY sends birthday wishes
New York City’s subway operator has made a video wishing the Taipei MRT System a happy birthday, as this month marks the 20th anniversary of the Taipei metro. Available on YouTube, the video was made by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and joins other metro systems around the world in celebrating the anniversary. The first line of the Taipei system, which now has five lines, began operations on March 28, 1996. It was Taiwan’s first metro system. The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp, which operates the system, is organizing a series of events to celebrate the anniversary.
WEATHER
No sunshine on the horizon
Taiwan’s weather forecast remains cool and wet for the coming week due to the strengthening of a northeast monsoon weather front, a meteorologist said yesterday. In particular, heavy rain is expected from today until Tuesday as a result of increased moisture, National Central University Department of Atmospheric Sciences professor Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. The Central Weather Bureau yesterday issued a heavy rain warning for Hsinchu City and Taichung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Nantou and Hualien counties. The bureau also issued a poor visibility warning for western areas and the outlying islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu due to fog and low clouds. As of yesterday morning, seven passenger flights scheduled to depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport were delayed due to fog, Taiwan Taoyuan Airport Co said.
BASEBALL
Taiwan ranks third in world
Taiwan has achieved a new high in terms of its baseball power, ranking the world’s third-highest in points, behind only Japan and the US, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) said on Friday. The WBSC said Taiwan scored a record-high 4,702 points in its Baseball World Ranking, moving a notch ahead of its previous ranking and pushing Cuba, which had 3,727 points, to fifth place. Japan holds the world’s No. 1 spot with 5,154 points, followed by the US at 5,091 points. The number of points is calculated by the number of games in which each nation’s team scores in competitions worldwide. South Korea also secured a record-high place on the WBSC ranking, coming in fourth with 4,641 points, up from eighth place, thanks to its final victory in last year’s WSBC Premier 12.
ENTERTAINMENT
K-pop star arrives home
Taiwanese K-pop star Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜) arrived at Kaohsiung International Airport from South Korea yesterday. Local media reported that she is to take a junior-high school scholastic aptitude test today. Born in Tainan, the 16-year-old is a member of South Korean girl group Twice, which debuted in October last year. She moved to South Korea in her second year of junior-high school to train with South Korean firm JYP Entertainment. Chou only has an elementary-school-level education, local media said, adding that by passing the test she would have the required academic credentials to continue her schooling in South Korea. In January, she became ensnared in controversy after China-based Taiwanese singer Huang An (黃安) accused her of supporting Taiwanese independence. Huang’s comments spurred Chinese netizens to attack Chou, resulting in her issuing an apology, saying “there is only one China... I have always felt proud of being Chinese.” The incident infuriated many Taiwanese, who accused JYP of forcing Chou to issue the apology.
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
Taiwan must first strengthen its own national defense to deter a potential invasion by China as cross-strait tensions continue to rise, multiple European lawmakers said on Friday. In a media interview in Taipei marking the conclusion of an eight-member European parliamentary delegation’s six-day visit to Taiwan, the lawmakers urged Taipei to remain vigilant and increase defense spending. “All those who claim they want to protect you actually want to conquer you,” Ukrainian lawmaker Serhii Soboliev said when asked what lessons Taiwan could draw from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soboliev described the Kremlin as a “new fascist Nazi regime” that justified
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