HEALTH
Dengue case confirmed
Another case of indigenous dengue fever has been confirmed in Tainan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The patient, a man in his 50s from Annan District (安南), has not traveled abroad recently, it said. As the man has other health problems, he was only diagnosed with dengue after two screenings and multiple hospital visits, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said. As of Tuesday, there have been 66 confirmed cases of indigenous dengue fever this year: 48 in Kaohsiung, 17 in Tainan and one in Taoyuan, CDC data showed. There were also 288 confirmed imported cases, the highest number in 10 years, the data showed.
FISHERIES
Taiwanese vessel released
A Taiwanese vessel detained on Tuesday by Indonesian authorities was yesterday released after no forbidden items were found on the ship, the Fisheries Agency said. The cargo ship Yung Man Shun has left the Batam Naval Base, where the ship and its 21 crewmembers had been detained for a day, agency Deputy Director-General Lin Kuo-ping (林國平) said, adding that it is scheduled to arrive in Kaohsiung in five or six days. The Kaohsiung-registered vessel was detained for not turning on its automatic identification system (AIS) and having a man onboard who is not on its crew list while in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone, an Indonesian naval officer identified as Fajar said. Explaining the reason for the ship’s release, Fajar said the Taiwanese vessel simply “forgot” to turn on its AIS. A Turkish man who was not on the crew list showed his crew ID to the inspectors.
EARTHQUAKES
Quakes hit Taipei, Hualien
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake shook the Taipei area early yesterday morning, while another small quake hit eastern Taiwan about eight hours later, Central Weather Bureau data showed. The Taipei quake was rather unusual, because most of the temblors in and around the nation recorded by the bureau occur along the east coast and in the southwest. Yesterday’s temblor occurred at 1am in Beitou District (北投), about 14.9km north of Taipei City Hall, and struck at a depth of only 5 km, the Seismology Center said, adding that no damage was reported. Its highest intensity — at 3 on a 7-tiered scale — was recorded on Yangmingshan. Meanwhile, the magnitude 3.3 earthquake in eastern Taiwan, which occurred at 9:38am, was centered 33km south of the Hualien County Office in Hualien City and was the 10th to hit that general area since the beginning of the month. Its highest intensity was recorded in Jiqi Village (磯崎), with an intensity level of 4.
TOURISM
Alishan accepting weddings
Applications for this year’s wedding ceremonies under the Sacred Tree on Alishan began yesterday, which will allow 15 couples to tie the knot in the romantic setting, the Alishan National Scenic Area Administration said. Under the more than 2,000-year-old divine tree, nine couples from Taiwan and six from abroad will be able to hold their wedding ceremonies on Oct. 19 or 20, it said. Over the past 13 years, more than 200 couples have exchanged their vows under the tree, it said. Newlyweds can also join a series of activities, such as preparing handmade snacks and meals and attending a traditional Tsou wedding ceremony, Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Chou Ting-chang (周廷彰) said.
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
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
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
China is attempting to subsume Taiwanese culture under Chinese culture by promulgating legislation on preserving documents on ties between the Minnan region and Taiwan, a Taiwanese academic said yesterday. China on Tuesday enforced the Fujian Province Minnan and Taiwan Document Protection Act to counter Taiwanese cultural independence with historical evidence that would root out misleading claims, Chinese-language media outlet Straits Today reported yesterday. The act is “China’s first ad hoc local regulations in the cultural field that involve Taiwan and is a concrete step toward implementing the integrated development demonstration zone,” Fujian Provincial Archives deputy director Ma Jun-fan (馬俊凡) said. The documents
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