TRANSPORTATION
Rail services reduced
High-speed rail services would be reduced from April 18 to June 21 amid falling demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said yesterday. The reductions would apply from Friday to Sunday during off-peak hours, the company said. About 41 services would be cut each week, or 4 percent of the weekly total of 1,016, it said. At least three trains would run every hour during operation hours, it added. Services would return to normal before the Dragon Boat Festival on June 25-28 and is expected to cause a surge in demand, the company said. It said it would monitor passenger volume and make adjustments to its services if necessary. By the end of next month, all 12 stations on the high-speed rail network would be equipped with infrared thermometers and people with a temperature of more than 37.5°C would not be allowed to board trains and would be given a full refund, it said.
SOCIETY
Taichung clubs shut down
Taichung’s five major nightclubs have agreed to shut down for 14 days to support the city’s efforts to contain COVID-19, the Taichung Police Department said yesterday. The decision came after officials from the city’s Civil Affairs Bureau and Health Bureau visited several bars, clubs and other entertainment venues on Sunday to persuade them to close their doors, as the nation continues to battle the spread of COVID-19, police said. Those that agreed to shut down for 14 days are Muse, Alta Club, Show House, 18TC and X-Cube, the five most popular nightclubs in the city, they said. Some of them decided to the close immediately, while the others said their shutdown would take effect yesterday, police added.
LOTTERY
Special prizes unclaimed
Five receipts that each won NT$10 million (US$328,893) in the November-to-December draw of the Uniform Invoice Lottery have yet to be claimed, the Ministry of Finance said on Sunday. The deadline for claiming the prizes is May 5, the ministry said. Thirteen receipts with the number 59647042 won the special NT$10 million prize and eight of them have been claimed so far, it said. Of the five that have yet to be claimed, three were for purchases under NT$100, it added. One winner bought a pack of dried berries from a 7-Eleven convenience store for NT$35, another spent NT$79 on gas and the other bought a matcha latte for NT$80 at a fast-food chain, the ministry said. Eighteen receipts with the number 01260528 won the NT$2 million prize, but only eight of them have been claimed, it said.
LOGISTICS
Postal services suspended
Chunghwa Post on Friday announced that postal services to 102 countries have been suspended due to flight cancelations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Postal services would not resume until flight services provided by the nation’s carriers return to normal, it said. The countries affected by the disruption include India, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Tajikistan, Oman, Bahrain, Brunei, Laos, Armenia, Turkey, Israel, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Luxembourg, Spain, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Russia, South Africa, Senegal, Brazil, El Salvador, Chile and Mexico.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
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