MILITARY
Liu Ho-chien dies at 97
Liu Ho-chien (劉和謙), a former chief of the general staff, died early yesterday at the age of 97, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press release. The ministry said it would help Liu’s family with the funeral arrangements, but did not give any other details of his death. Liu, a four-star admiral, served as commander of the navy from 1983 to 1988 and as chief of the general staff from 1991 to 1995. He was appointed as military strategy adviser to the president by Taiwan’s four elected presidents to date, including President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). He played a crucial role in the development of Taiwan’s navy and helped Taiwan purchase submarines in the 1980s despite various difficulties.
TRANSPORTATION
THSRC announces tickets
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) yesterday said that sales of reserved seat tickets for eight additional services running from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2 are to start at Saturday midnight. The THSRC said it is to run eight additional services amid high demand for the105 specially scheduled trains, bookings for which opened on Dec. 1. A total of 740 regular trains, and 53 southbound and 60 northbound extra services are to run from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2 to meet the demand, it said. Meanwhile, reserved seat tickets for 12 extra services from Jan. 5 to 7 are also go on sale at midnight on Saturday, it said. THSRC added that travel advice for nonreserved tickets, which can only be purchased on the day of travel, would be provided on the homepage of its Web site during the holiday period. Under its color-coded system, green indicates wait times of less than 30 minutes, while yellow indicates longer than 30 minutes and red more than 60 minutes, it said.
SOCIETY
Citizenship granted to 28
Twenty-eight foreign professionals were granted citizenship this year, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The ministry on Monday convened its final meeting of the year to review naturalization applications for high-level foreign professionals, who under a 2016 amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) no longer need to forfeit their original nationality to become citizens. “High-level professionals” are defined in the act as working in technology, economics, education, culture, art, sports or other fields and have been recommended by a central authority. In the six years since the change, 281 people have become naturalized citizens, the ministry said. The seven applications approved on Monday brought the total for this year to 28, it said. Education was the best-represented field with nine approved applicants, followed by technology with seven and economics with six, it said. Twelve of the people hold dual citizenship with the US, it said.
BUSINESS
EVA Air awarded in Dubai
Taiwan-based EVA Air has been named as offering the best premium economy service in Asia at this year’s World Travel Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a statement released yesterday by the airline said. The airline, which launched its premium economy service in 1992, said it has “adopted business class seats” to make travelers feel comfortable and offers amenities such as inflight entertainment systems featuring an 11-inch LCD touch screen and noise-canceling headphones to enhance the flying experience. A pillow and blanket set, travel-sized toiletries, USB plugs and 110v sockets for laptops are also offered, it added. In addition to seats and amenities, special meals for are also provided, it added.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
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