SOCIETY
Sinkhole prompts evacuation
Ten people who were placed in a hotel after a large sinkhole appeared in front of their homes in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) on Saturday might need to wait up to two weeks before they are allowed to return, the Taipei City Government said yesterday. A small sinkhole appeared on Chongde Street (崇德街) at about 2:50pm on Saturday, believed to have been caused by nearby construction work. However, the sinkhole grew to 15m long and 3m wide, with a depth of 3m, and became larger at about 5:20pm, the city government said. The incident led to the evacuation of 16 households living nearby due to safety concerns, although no injuries were reported, it said. The sinkhole has been filled, but several safety conditions must be met before the evacuated residents of five affected households are permitted to return home, Department of Urban Development head Wang Yu-fen (王玉芬) said. Xinyi District Administrator Chen Kuan-ling (陳冠伶) said that each evacuated resident would receive an emergency resettlement subsidy of NT$1,600 per day from the city government for up to seven days. Any additional costs would be paid by the construction firm, Chen said.
TRAVEL
Airport handles 10m trips
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport had by Tuesday handled 10 million passenger trips so far this year, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The airport expects to handle 28 million passenger trips this year, which would be 58 percent of the 2019 level before the COVID-19 pandemic, company chairman Yang Wei-fuu (楊偉甫) said in a statement. Transport capacity at the airport grew 68.6 percent from an average of 21,000 passengers a day on Oct. 13 last year, when Taiwan reopened its borders and eased virus restrictions, to a daily average of 91,000 last month, he said. By the end of last month, the percentage of airport shops operating had also reached 79 percent of the 2019 level, he added.
AVIATION
EVA Airways wins five stars
EVA Airways Corp has been certified by airline-ranking company Skytrax as a five-star airline for the eighth consecutive year, making it the only carrier in Taiwan to win the honor, the airline announced on Thursday. Only 10 airlines received a five-star rating from Skytrax this year, EVA Airways said in a statement. The decision to award the eighth consecutive five-star rating to the carrier represents Skytrax’s recognition of the consistently superb service provided by its staff, company president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said in a statement, adding that such awards motivate EVA Airways to continue improving its services to make passenger flights more comfortable. The other nine airlines to receive the five-star honor for this year were Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Hainan Airlines and Garuda Indonesia.
HEALTH
Premier tests positive
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) canceled a planned public appearance yesterday after testing positive for COVID-19 on Saturday evening, acting Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said. Chen took a COVID-19 test after experiencing a cough and throat discomfort, Lo said, adding that his doctor has advised him to rest at home. Chen can report to work as usual by wearing a mask after his respiratory symptoms relieve, Lo quoted the doctor as saying.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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