SOCIETY
Squirrel bites woman in MRT
A person’s pet squirrel escaped from its carrier in a crowded Taipei MRT station earlier this month and bit a woman on the leg, the Taipei City Police Department’s Rapid Transit Division said in a news release yesterday. A woman was standing on a platform at Zhongxiao Xinsheng MRT Station on Aug. 16, when a squirrel climbed up her right leg and bit her on the back of her knee, the division said. The squirrel escaped through a gap in the carrier caused by other passengers pressing up against it. The owner only noticed the carrier was empty after their train had departed, and had to take the next train back to the station, where they found the squirrel, police said. Under the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), pet owners whose animals escape and injure others can face a maximum fine of NT$12,000 and up to three days in detention.
CRIME
Kidnap victims rescued
Seven jobseekers, lured by offers of high-paying jobs only to be forcibly confined by a suspected criminal ring in an abandoned bunkhouse in Kaohsiung and have their bank accounts used for criminal purposes, were rescued, and five suspects were arrested last week, Kaohsiung police said yesterday. A woman in her 40s was reportedly shot with a stun gun and beaten with a water pipe when she was caught trying to flee after having written down the license plate number of a vehicle belonging to her captors, police said, adding that others were allegedly burned with cigarettes. A person who escaped on Thursday called the police from a nearby private home. Police immediately headed to the bunkhouse and arrested five suspects on site. Stun guns, chilli and pepper sprays, handcuffs, metal rods, wire nails, account books and bank cards were seized.
WEATHER
Agency to seed clouds
The Water Resources Agency on Sunday said that it is preparing to seed clouds to boost rainfall amid concerns over a water shortage in parts of northern Taiwan. The agency on Saturday set up a disaster response team, which immediately initiated cloud seeding operations. On Sunday, it notified the management offices of several reservoirs in northern Taiwan and Zengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫) in the south to prepare for cloud seeding operations and an afternoon thunderstorm system. The average rainfall in Taiwan last month was 8.3cm, down 63.9 percent from a year earlier and the lowest for the month since 2008, in part because no typhoons made landfall, a Bureau of National Statistics report showed.
SPORTS
Taipei Marathon entries open
People wanting to enter the annual Taipei Marathon can register now for the event, which is to be held on Dec. 18 for runners aged 18 and older, the city’s Department of Sports said yesterday. Registration lasts until Sept. 28, with up to 9,000 athletes to be accepted, the department said, adding that the marathon covers 42km from Taipei City Hall to the Taipei Municipal Stadium. A half-marathon is also to be held on Dec. 18, and registration opens today for a maximum of 19,000 runners. First held in 1986, the annual Taipei Marathon is one of the city’s major events, not just for sports, but for tourism marketing and promotion, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said.
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with counties that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
ORIGIN UNKNOWN: The Leofoo Village Theme Park and Taipei Zoo have accounted for their baboons, as authorities continue a 12-day capture attempt Authorities in Taoyuan are searching for a non-native baboon, possibly of the chacma species, that has been spotted several times in the city’s Pingjhen District (平鎮) over the past 12 days, and was most recently seen in coastal Sinwu District (新屋). The baboon was first spotted near a local factory on March 10 in central Taoyuan, Jhensing Borough Warden Huang Chih-chieh (黃志杰) said. Huang said he requested the Leofoo Village Theme Park’s help after a second sighting on Saturday. In other sightings, the baboon raided fruit and vegetable gardens on private property, and has evaded one capture attempt via a tranquilizer dart. Media reported
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