SEISMOLOGY
Two 5.9 quakes hit Hualien
Two earthquakes measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale yesterday afternoon shook eastern Taiwan seven minutes apart, the Central Weather Administration, said. The first quake hit at 5:45pm, with its epicenter 26km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 15.6km, agency data showed. The temblor’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, was greatest in Hualien, Taitung and Nantou counties, where it measured 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. The intensity was 3 in Taichung, Tainan, Chiayi City, and Yilan, Chiayi, Yunlin and Changhua counties. The second quake occurred at 5:52pm, with its epicenter 27.8km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 16.1km. Its intensity was greatest in Hualien and Nantou counties, where it measured 4. No immediate damage or injuries were reported.
POLITICS
Itu Aba visit postponed
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), convener of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, yesterday said that a visit by 20 opposition lawmakers to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) planned for Thursday next week would be postponed due to concerns that weather conditions might prevent them from returning for a plenary session the following day. The visit might be rescheduled to Saturday next week, she said. A number of bills including legislation proposed by KMT lawmakers to make contempt of the legislature a punishable offense and institutionalize an annual “state of the nation” address by the president to the Legislative Yuan are slated for review on Friday next week and might be put to a vote that day.
TRANSPORTATION
MRT repairs to cost NT$400m
Independent reviewers estimate it would cost more than NT$400 million (US$12.37 million) to reinforce sections of the MRT Circular Line (Yellow Line) after damage from a massive earthquake on April 3, the New Taipei City Government said yesterday. During the quake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, 11 sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts shifted up to 92cm. Damage was more serious than initial estimates, with city officials late last month saying it would take at least a year to repair. Reinforcements have been put in place to ensure stability, as frequent aftershocks continue, New Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems Director Lee Cheng-an (李政安) said. Experts estimate that an additional NT$400 million is needed to reinforce the line, Lee said.
TECHNOLOGY
ITRI wins at Edison Awards
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) won four medals — one gold and three silver — at last month’s Edison Awards, which honor the world’s most innovative new products, services and business leaders. In the Health, Medical and Biotech category, its novel dual-targeted therapy for glaucoma won gold, the institute said, adding that its drug is about three times more effective than current medications. The ITRI’s “key functional cell identity” technology, which helps to identify potent therapeutic cells to create a stem-cell bank won silver, it said. The bank can be used to develop cell therapy products able to treat more than 40 medical conditions, such as myocardial infarction and diabetes, it said. The two other silver medals were won in the Engineering and Robotics and the Resilient and Sustainable Solutions categories.
‘OBNOXIOUS MAN’: The KMT’s Chen Ching-hui moved into Chung Chia-pin’s path atop the podium and reached for him before he grabbed at her legs with both hands Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said he slipped and lost his balance, and did not know who was around him, after jumping onto the speaker’s podium at the legislature in Taipei. He apologized after a collision with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽), who moved to intercept him as he mounted the podium. There was pushing and shoving when the session started in the morning as KMT lawmakers attempted to block access to the podium to shield Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) so he could preside over the session. Video footage showed Chung step on a chair and
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight