ASTRONOMY
New Year sun map available
The Taipei Astronomical Museum has launched an online map that gives the sunrise times around the world on New Year’s Day. Users only have to select a location to find out the exact time that the sun will rise and set there on Jan. 1, the museum said, adding that the times vary depending on the latitude, longitude and altitude of the areas. In Taiwan, a prime location to view the sunrise on Jan. 1 would be Hualien County’s Ponanshan (柏南山), while Taitung County’s Sansiantai (三仙台) would be the best low-lying area, the museum said. The last sunset of this year can be seen at the earliest on Taiwan proper at 5:26pm in Kaohsiung’s Sizihwan (西子灣), while on the outlying islands it would be visible at 5:30pm in Kinmen’s Lieyu Township (烈嶼), it said. For more information, visit www.tam.museum/astronomy/forecast_detail.php?id=592.
SOCIETY
National policy adviser quits
PChome Online Inc chairman Jan Hung-tze (詹宏志) yesterday resigned from his post as presidential national policy adviser after a former assistant of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) on Saturday accused him of “pressuring” a magazine to not run a story about Kao allegedly being physically assaulted by her boyfriend, Raphael Lin (林秉樞). Mirror Media reported the story on Tuesday. Kao filed a police report later in the day, and Lin was detained on Thursday after prosecutors opened an investigation. Jan said he texted Mirror Media president Pei Wei (裴偉) to ask about the matter after Lin had asked him to, but he had not crossed the line of asking the magazine to not run the story. He said he resigned because he had troubled the Presidential Office with a personal matter.
SOCIETY
Lee donates Nobel prize
Former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) — the only Nobel Prize laureate born and raised in Taiwan — on Friday donated the certificate and medal he received from the Nobel committee to the National Museum of Taiwan History. Lee received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Dudley Herschbach and John Polanyi “for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes.” Lee said the two dreams he had when he was young were to become a top chemist and make the world a better place with like-minded people. He said he was happy to leave a positive mark on the nation’s history, adding that he was honored to leave the prize with the museum. Lee’s donation included other honors and certificates awarded to him, the museum said. The collection is displayed in a permanent exhibition titled “Our Land Our People: The Story of Taiwan,” it added.
CRIME
Crystal meth haul seized
Thai authorities intercepted nearly 900kg of crystal methamphetamine that was bound for Taiwan, where it could have been sold for 3 billion baht (US$88.59 million), a Thai customs official said on Saturday. Late on Friday, customs officials found the haul in a shipment at Bangkok Port’s customs office. It had been hidden in powder form inside 161 white silicon slabs. “The 897kg of crystal meth is worth about 500 to 600 million baht, but once they reach their destination they will be worth 3 billion baht in market price,” Thai Customs Director-General Patchara Anuntasil told a news conference. Patchara said that Thai and Taiwanese authorities were investigating the matter.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
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