SOCIETY
Youth reliant on phones
Taiwanese adolescents rely heavily on their mobile phones for entertainment and interpersonal interactions, and the older they get, the more important their smartphones become to them, a survey released on Wednesday by the non-profit King Car Cultural and Educational Foundation showed. In the poll of Taiwanese aged 10 to 17, 76 percent said they would feel inconvenienced without a mobile phone to contact other people, and 64.1 percent said they would feel bored without one. In terms of phone usage, 16.1 percent of respondents use their phones more than five hours a day; 22.9 percent average three to five hours; 39.5 percent one to three hours; and 21.5 percent one hour a day. Most of the respondents used their phones to watch videos, interact on social media and play online games, said the survey, which was conducted in March with 3,017 valid samples.
SOCIETY
Student’s body found
The body of a Taiwanese student who went missing last week after going for swim in a river in Germany has been found, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. The body of the exchange student, surnamed Tsai (蔡), was found on Tuesday morning in the Weser River near Minden, a ministry statement said. Tsai’s family has confirmed that the body is that of their 18-year-old son, who had been missing since Friday last week. The ministry expressed its condolences to the family and thanked German rescue teams for their assistance in the search. According to local media reports, Tsai was part of a 60-member group that was camping on the banks of Weser River. He was swept away while swimming in the river.
SOCIETY
New scratch lotto coming
A new scratch ticket game is to be introduced on Monday, offering 200 top prizes of NT$100,000, Taiwan Lottery Corp said on Thursday. The Win-Win Lottery scratch tickets are to be sold at NT$100 each, and players will have a chance to win cash prizes of NT$100,000, NT$1,000, NT$200 and NT$100, Taiwan Lottery general manager Tsai Kuo-chi (蔡國基) said. The chances of winning would be 29.93 percent, based on two sets of 12 hidden numbers on the ticket, each in a range from 1 to 24, he said. The NT$100,000 prize would go to ticket holders who match none or all 12 winning numbers, Tsai said. Players who match one or 11 numbers would win NT$1,000, while those who match two or 10 would win NT$200, and those who match three or nine numbers would get NT$100, he said. The scratch game is part of the nation’s Public Welfare Lottery, which saw a 7 percent year-on-year increase in sales in the first five months of the year, Tsai said.
FOOD
Mussel season arrives
It is harvest time for mussels cultivated in waters off the coasts of Matsu, with the local delicacy to be available until late September, aquaculturists said. Mussel cultivation is a key aquaculture industry on the outlying island, with consumers on Taiwan proper the major customers, to whom farmers and retailers ship the fresh produce via home delivery services, while tourists can savor the limited seasonal delicacy at local restaurants. The harvest season normally runs from June to September, but began a week late this year, local businesses said. Mussels are known for their high nutritional value and are said to increase sperm count and improve sperm motility, a study by National Taiwan Ocean University’s food science department said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
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
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
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