EMERGENCIES
Fire closes highway
A section of Provincial Highway No. 18 was temporarily closed yesterday morning as firefighters worked to contain a forest fire in the Alishan (阿里山) area, the Directorate-General of Highways said. The fire began at noon on Thursday in a wooded area near Chiayi County’s Dabang Village (達邦) close to the 28.5km mark on County Highway No. 169 and spread to surrounding areas. Tsai Wei-yung (蔡衛勇), who heads the Fifth Maintenance Office’s Alishan Public Works Section, said that the fire caused loose soil and rocks to fall onto the road, in particular between the 68.7km and 69.2km markers on the provincial highway, which is commonly known as the Alishan highway. An official from the Chiayi Forest District Office was struck by a falling rock yesterday, district office deputy director Lee Ting-chung (李定忠) said, adding that the official’s injuries were not life-threatening. The fire had spread across 1 hectare of forest, the district office said, adding that the cause had yet to be determined.
SOCIETY
Taipei Zoo catches monkey
A patas monkey that escaped from the Taipei Zoo was recaptured on Thursday after being caught in a trap about 360m from its enclosure, officials said. The eight-year-old male named Nan Dao (男道) was found in the trap at 8:40am, probably attracted by the apples and cookies inside, and a recording of noises made by patas monkeys playing, zoo spokesman Eric Tsao (曹先紹) said. Nan Dao appears stable, although he was a bit nervous, Tsao said, adding that he would receive a thorough health check next week. Once cleared of any injuries and after completing a 14-day quarantine, Nan Dao would be returned to the enclosure he shares with other patas monkeys, Tsao said. Nan Dao escaped on Monday when a zookeeper was cleaning its enclosure.
SOCIETY
Baseballer to show photos
Two exhibitions of photographs by Wang Chien-ming (王建民), a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player, are to open this month, depicting aspects of his career and his fascination with Taiwan’s scenery. The photos are to be displayed at two free exhibitions, both titled “Wang’s Life,” in Taipei and Tainan. They are to run for nearly one month. The one in Tainan, his hometown, is to run from Saturday next week to April 25 at the Hayashi Department Store, featuring photos of Taiwan’s scenery, Wang said. The exhibition in Taipei is to comprise photos he took abroad, depicting his transition from Taiwan as a student to his career in the US, he said. It is to open on March 31 at the Olympus Plaza Taipei and run through April 25.
EDUCATION
Bilingual teacher goal set
The Ministry of Education is to increase the resources it dedicates to training teachers able to conduct courses in Mandarin and English, with a target of 1,500. Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) on Wednesday told a legislative meeting that the ministry has earmarked subsidies for facilities that specialize in bilingual teaching and research at eight universities. The universities would develop teaching methods and write programs for bilingual teachers, Pan said. Since last year, the ministry has established training for on-the-job teachers to improve their competency in bilingual teaching, Pan said, adding that 150 teachers have attended. The program this year is to include student teachers and those already working, Pan said, adding that he expects the efforts to help train 1,500 bilingual teachers annually.
EXCUSES: Beijing is using government and research vessels as a pretext to harass the nation and enter its EEZ, and engage in ‘hegemonic expansion,’ the coast guard said The Coast Guard Administration yesterday said it drove away Chinese oceanographic research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 (向陽紅33) from restricted waters after warning it that it was in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Chinese vessel entered restricted waters off the coast of Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) at 11:35pm on Thursday, the coast guard said, adding that it dispatched the Lanyu patrol vessel and the boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to leave. China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast, Lanyu’s crew told Xiang Yang Hong 22 over the radio, and demanded
BAIT AND SWITCH: Allowing KMT-run counties to sell to China while the threat of abrupt cancelations hangs overhead is another form of coercion, officials said Beijing is using agricultural purchase offers announced during the Straits Forum to deepen Taiwan’s dependence on the Chinese market, a Taiwanese official said yesterday as they criticized the Taitung County commissioner’s participation in the initiative. During the Straits Forum held in Xiamen on Saturday, Chinese officials announced a sales and purchase agreement for agricultural products from some counties led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴), who was barred from attending the event in person by the Mainland Affairs Council, participated via video. Under the agreement, China would purchase atemoyas, pomeloes, tea and grouper harvested in Taitung,
Four Taiwanese universities have been ranked among the world's top 200 institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for next year, the highest Taiwan has ever placed in the category, with National Taiwan University (NTU) achieving its best performance at 54th globally and 17th in Asia. The four Taiwanese institutions in the global top 200 are NTU (54th), National Tsing Hua University (142nd), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (177th) and National Cheng Kung University (191st), the rankings showed. All four universities achieved their highest-ever global rankings this year, QS data showed. National Cheng Kung University entered the top 200 for
Tropical Storm Mekkhala is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon tomorrow and could come close enough to Taiwan later in the week to prompt a sea warning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2 pm, the storm was located 1,870 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's southern tip and moving west- northwest at 23 km per hour. CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said Mekkhala is expected to continue moving west-northwest through Tuesday under the influence of the Pacific high- pressure system before gradually turning north toward waters east of Taiwan or south of the Ryukyu Islands. The timing and angle of the
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