EARTHQUAKE
Quake strikes off Hualien
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake shook eastern Taiwan yesterday morning, although no immediate damage or injuries were reported, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said. The epicenter of the temblor, which occurred off Hualien at 9:49am, was 15.4km north-northeast of Hualien County Hall, and it occurred at a depth of 11.5km, the bureau’s Seismology Center said. The intensity of the quake, which measures its actual effect, was highest in Hualien County, where it registered 4 on Taiwan’s 0 to 7 intensity scale, CWB data showed. The intensity was 4 in Nantou County and 3 in Yilan County and Taichung, the data showed.
SOCIETY
Ko Si-chi dies at 90
Photographer Ko Si-chi (柯錫杰), the first contemporary photographer in Taiwan, died of natural causes on Friday. He was 90. His death was confirmed by art historian and friend Hsiao Chong-ray (蕭瓊瑞). Born in Tainan in 1929, Ko first picked up a camera at the age of 19, when his lifelong pursuit of photography began. At 30, he traveled to Japan to study at the Tokyo Photo School. He later moved to New York, where he worked as a commercial photographer, before traveling and working around the world. He resettled in Taiwan when he was in his 70s. Ko was known for his landscape photography, which conveyed metaphors about humanity, Hsiao said. Ko was awarded the National Award for Arts in 2006 and is considered one of the nation’s most influential photographers, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
BANKING
BNI to issue student card
State-owned Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) is to issue special student debit cards to Indonesian students in Taiwan to help minimize administrative fees and promote discounts within businesses in the Indonesian community, it said last week. The cards are to provide student with a BNI bank account and debit services through the Mastercard network, said M. Zaky Faishal, a BNI representative in Taiwan. BNI plans to start issuing the cards on June 21, Faishal said. Indonesian Student Organization president Vendy Andreas said users of the debit card would save on administration fees when withdrawing money that their parents have remitted to them, and be eligible for discounts and offers when making purchases at Indonesian stores. Fajar Nuradi, director of the Indonesian Citizens Protection and Social Cultural Department at the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office in Taipei said that the debit cards would support his office’s efforts to enhance the database of Indonesian nationals in Taiwan.
DIPLOMACY
Saint Kitts PM re-elected
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday congratulated Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harris, whose party secured a second term in the country’s general elections the previous day. “Congratulations @pmharriskn on your re-election victory, a testament to what you’ve accomplished over the past 5 years,” Tsai tweeted. “Our shared values give us a strong foundation for cooperation, & I look forward to working with you & the people of #StKittsAndNevis.” Saint Kitts and Nevis is one of Taiwan’s nine diplomatic allies in Central and South America, and the Caribbean. The nation invited Taiwan Ambassador to Saint Kitts and Nevis Tom Lee (李志強) to Harris’ inauguration, which highlights the friendship between the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS