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.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS