SEISMICITY
Earthquake jolts Chiayi
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 12:49pm yesterday, according to the Central Weather Bureau. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter of the temblor was in Minxiong Township (民雄), the largest township in Chiayi County, about 14km northeast of Chiayi County Hall, at a depth of 7.7km, the bureau’s Seismology Center said. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Yunlin County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 3 in Tainan and 2 in Changhua County, the bureau said.
SOCIETY
Man survives cardiac arrest
A Japanese national rescued from an apartment fire in Taipei yesterday was revived by doctors after suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, local police said. The man, 25-year-old television personality Yuta Okubo, is breathing, police said. Firefighters had rescued Okubo from the fifth floor of an apartment building on Tonghe E Street in Shilin District (士林) after responding to an emergency call at about 3am, police said. Okubo was rushed to the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest and was resuscitated by hospital staff, police said. The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has been contacted to help inform Okubo’s family in Japan about the incident, police said, adding that the cause of the fire was still being investigated. The fire, which was extinguished at about 3:25am, appears to have started from an air-conditioner unit in one of the rooms on the floor, media reports said.
CRIME
Woman sentenced for life
A woman who caused a fire in a Kaohsiung City building that killed 46 people and injured 41 in 2021 was handed a life sentence by the Kaohsiung Branch of the Taiwan High Court on Wednesday. The court found Huang Ke-ke (黃格格) guilty of homicide after judging that on Oct. 14, 2021, she deliberately left burning residue from mosquito repellent incense on a sofa in her boyfriend’s apartment, in the Cheng Chung Cheng (城中城) building, with the burning ashes sparking a fire that spread through the building. The ruling sentenced Huang to life imprisonment and disenfranchisement for life at about 9am Wednesday through a remote court hearing. There was sufficient evidence to prove that Huang meant to kill people, the court said. The case can be appealed.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
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