SEISMOLOGY
More earthquakes expected
More earthquakes of magnitude 3 to 4 could hit Chiayi over the next one to two weeks, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. CWA Seismological Center division chief Lee I-ting (李伊婷) said the earthquake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale that struck off Hualien on April 3 resulted in stress adjustments in the underground fault zones in Chiayi. This might have triggered blind faults and unknown faults in western Taiwan to release energy, leading to frequent temblors occurring around the Chiayi area, Lee said, adding that the center has recorded 21 earthquakes within a 10km radius of Chiayi County’s Budai Township (布袋) since April 1. Of these, eight were concentrated within seven hours between late on Friday to early Saturday morning.
DIPLOMACY
Paraguay delegation lands
Paraguayan Senate President Silvio Adalberto Ovelar Benitez arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a five-day stay during which he is to meet with President Tsai Ying-wen (蔡英文), president-elect William Lai (賴清德) and other senior government officials. Upon arrival at Taiwan, Taoyuan International Airport, Ovelar said he is happy to be invited by the government to visit the country again. Ovelar is leading a delegation consisting of Second Vice President of the Chamber of Senators Hermelinda Alvarenga de Ortega and Senator Pedro Alejandro Diaz. The trip marks Ovelar’s third visit to Taiwan. He last visited the country in 2004 as then minister of social development and during his previous stint as Senate speaker, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
FOOD
Sudan IV found in powder
A pepper powder product submitted by Taichung food industry operators for voluntary testing was found to contain an industrial dye known as Sudan IV and was being removed from store shelves, the city government announced on Saturday. The Taichung Office of Food and Drug Safety reported that the “Gu Yue powder,” supplied by Taichung-based Luye Foods Corp, tested positive for Sudan IV, a chemical classified as toxic in Taiwan. The office said it has asked 25 downstream buyers in Taichung and areas such as Changhua, Miaoli and Nantou counties as well as New Taipei City to stop selling the product and to recall it.
ELECTION
KMT wins five by-elections
Candidates belonging to or supported by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won five of six by-elections held across Taiwan on Saturday.
The by-elections were held to fill vacant political offices across the country, including the mayorship of Miaoli City, township mayor positions in Taitung’s Dawu Township (大武), as well as Yunlin’s Huwei (虎尾) and Mailiao (麥寮) townships, a district seat in Yilan’s county council and a district seat on Taichung’s city council. KMT candidates scored victories in Miaoli, Taitung and Taichung, while independent candidates supported by the KMT won in Yilan and Huwei. In the remaining race, in Mailiao, Democratic Progressive Party member Hsu Chung-fu (許忠富) sailed to victory running as an independent. Legislator and member of the KMT’s Organizational Development Committee Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) said the results served as a reminder to president-elect William Lai (賴清德) that “the public’s dissatisfaction with the Democratic Progressive Party is ongoing.” DPP spokesman Wu Cheng (吳崢) said a variety of factors, including low turnout, were behind the party’s losses.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
PROBLEMATIC APP: Citing more than 1,000 fraud cases, the government is taking the app down for a year, but opposition voices are calling it censorship Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday decried a government plan to suspend access to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (小紅書) for one year as censorship, while the Presidential Office backed the plan. The Ministry of the Interior on Thursday cited security risks and accusations that the Instagram-like app, known as Rednote in English, had figured in more than 1,700 fraud cases since last year. The company, which has about 3 million users in Taiwan, has not yet responded to requests for comment. “Many people online are already asking ‘How to climb over the firewall to access Xiaohongshu,’” Cheng posted on
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