ENVIRONMENT
Taiwan observes Earth Hour
Several of Taiwan’s major landmarks, including the Presidential Office Building and Taipei 101, joined cities around the globe to observe Earth Hour by turning off their lights from 8:30pm to 9:30pm yesterday. The observance of Earth Hour in Taiwan last year saved about 120,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, the equivalent of 60 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, which equates to planting nearly 5,800 trees, Taiwan Power Co said in a press release. A total of 900,000kWh of electricity has been saved since Taiwan began observing Earth Hour in 2010, it added. The annual global event encourages individuals, communities and businesses to turn off non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol of their commitment to help the planet.
WEATHER
Temperatures to rise
With easterly winds bringing warm air, temperatures in central and southern Taiwan were as high as 32°C yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said. Daniel Wu (吳德榮), a former director of the bureau’s Weather Forecast Center who is now an adjunct associate professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University, said that temperatures across Taiwan are expected to rise further over the next few days. Wu said that a front is expected to arrive in Taiwan on Sunday next week, but it could be mild, so temperatures would only drop slightly. The weather system is also unlikely to bring heavy rains, he added. Meanwhile, due to a lack of wind, air quality in west Taiwan was poor yesterday, the Environmental Protection Administration said. Air quality could deteriorate early this morning, triggering a “red” alert — which signals unhealthy air quality — in some parts of Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan counties, it said.
TRANSPORTATION
Green Line ‘improved’
People in Taichung have expressed satisfaction with the city’s new MRT Green Line, which resumed trial runs on Thursday after a four-month suspension due to mechanical problems. Some passengers said that the stability of the ride has improved, and the overall service is better than when the first trial runs were launched in November last year. The Green Line, the first line on Taichung’s MRT system to be completed, was forced to halt its initial test run six days after it began on Nov. 16 last year. The city government said that couplings between the cars had not been assembled properly. A new date, April 25, has now been set for the start of commercial services, and free rides are being offered from 6am to midnight daily until April 23, the city government said.
TOURISM
Flight offers views of Japan
EVA Airways conducted a one-off flight over Japan yesterday, offering passengers a view of Emihe Prefecture in partnership with the local government, the carrier said. Before the flight departed Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), the prefecture’s mascot, Mikyan, performed at a ceremony to welcome the 180 passengers before they boarded an Airbus A321-200 for the five-hour round trip. Passengers viewed Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, including several volcanoes, such as Mount Aso and Sakurajima, before flying over Emihe on Shikoku Island, EVA Airways spokesman David Chen (陳耀銘) said. They saw the bridges that connect Shikoku and Honshu islands, as well as Matsuyama Castle, he said. The tour also included a view of the Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, EVA said. It was EVA’s second such flight over Japan.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe