FISHERIES
Indonesia releases boat
A Taiwanese long-line fishing boat was released and allowed to resume operations early yesterday morning after being searched and detained by the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency near the Strait of Malacca on Friday last week. The boat was released at 5am yesterday after no evidence of illegal activity was found, Representative to Indonesia John Chen (陳忠) said. Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia officials assisted with the investigation while ensuring the rights of Taiwanese nationals aboard the Kaohsiung-registered Wei Long vessel, Chen said. The Wei Long had received authorization to travel to the Indian Ocean to fish and was making its way there after a pit stop in Singapore when it was detained by Indonesian authorities. Agency officers boarded the ship, which had 29 people on it, including a Taiwanese national in a position of authority and Philippine and Indonesian crew members. Following an inspection of the ship, the agency tugged it to nearby Pulau Karimun Besar, about 30km to 35km west-southwest of Singapore, where it remained until yesterday morning. A woman surnamed Chen (陳), identified as the owner of the boat, said the search was part of a routine inspection by Indonesia, which concluded that there was no evidence of any illegal activity.
SOCIETY
Taipei ranks low in expat pay
Taipei placed ninth from the bottom in the HSBC Expat Explorer survey’s global rankings of expatriate salaries among 52 cities. Expatriates working in Taipei make US$76,788 per year on average, more than those in Buenos Aires; Prague; Manchester, England; Glasgow, Scotland; Barcelona, Spain; Birmingham, England; Brisbane, Australia; and Edinburgh, Scotland, the HSBC survey of 27,587 expatriates from 159 nations and territories showed. A total of 52 cities reached the minimum sample threshold of 90 expatriate respondents and were analyzed separate from their nations. Expatriates who work in Mumbai, India, are the highest-paid in the world, earning an average of US$217,165, more than double the world average of US$99,903, the media reported, citing the HSBC Bank International survey found. Next were expatriates in San Francisco, with an average annual salary of US$207,227, while three other Asian cities — Shanghai (fourth, US$202,211), Jakarta (eighth, US$152,589) and Hong Kong (ninth, US$152,589) — also ranked among the top 10. Edinburgh ranked last with an average expatriate salary of US$56,250 per year, the reports said. The average earnings of expatriates exceeded US$100,000 in 31 cities.
SOCIETY
Black Hawk piece recovered
Debris believed to be from an army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter that went missing on Feb. 5 near Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) was yesterday found by a Lanyu resident in a coastal area close to Yeyin Village (野銀). Rescue workers have revived plans to find the wreckage. The resident said that he found a piece of metal about 60cm long and 40cm wide washed up on the shore, which according National Airborne Service Corps official Chu Shih-chuan (祝世全) resembles a hydraulic cover plate believed to be from the top of the helicopter’s cockpit. While the debris was found in northern Lanyu, the helicopter disappeared near the south of the island and a signal believed to be from the flight’s black box was also sent from waters south of the island, Chu said. There were six people on board the missing chopper — the pilot, co-pilot, an engineer, a flight nurse, a medical patient and a family member of the patient.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
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