SEISMICITY
Quake rattles Hualien
An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale struck off Hualien County at 3:45pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.8km northeast of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 10km, CWA data showed. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the shaking, was highest where Hualien and Yilan counties meet, measuring 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. No immediate damage or injuries were reported. Earlier in the day, three earthquakes struck off Hualien county five minutes apart. The first of the three smaller quakes, a magnitude 5.1 quake, hit at 9:35am, with its hypocenter 31.2km south of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 10km, CWA data showed. A magnitude 5.0 quake occurred at 9:37am 15.2km south of the county hall at a depth of 10km and a magnitude 4.1 event occurred at 9:40am 14.7km south of the hall at a depth of 4.2km, the data showed.
AGRICULTURE
Hualien vouchers announced
The Ministry of Agriculture is to issue vouchers for agricultural products from Hualien County as part of the government’s post-quake recovery effort following an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale that hit Taiwan on April 3, the ministry said yesterday. More than 700,000 vouchers would be issued on July 1 to boost the county’s agricultural sales and revitalize the quake-battered local economy, ministry official Lin Chang-li (林長立) said. Each voucher would be valued at NT$250 (US$7.71), but the amount might be increased, Lin said. The government-run Rural Rejuvenation Fund would provide NT$183 million to finance the vouchers, he said. An app would be released for people to access the vouchers, he said.
SOLAR ACTIVITY
Flare disruption not expected
People in Taiwan are not expected to be affected by a severe solar flare, which is expected to hit Earth early today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The solar flare — a sudden burst of brightness in localized areas of the sun’s atmosphere — could last for a day and disrupt high-frequency radio communications, the CWA said in a report. However, the space event is not likely to affect the public, as everyday communication devices such as mobile phones, wireless networks and Bluetooth use different frequency bands, it said. Still, the disruptions could potentially affect aviation, navigation and positioning systems, it said.
CRIME
Two juveniles charged
Two juveniles, a boy and a girl, allegedly involved in a homicide case at a New Taipei City junior-high school, on Thursday were charged with murder following an investigation by the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office. On Dec. 25 last year, a male student was seriously injured by a male student wielding a switchblade knife. The injured boy died in a hospital. He had apparently had an argument with the girl, who asked the alleged attacker to help her confront him, investigators said. Initially, a juvenile court placed the suspects in protective custody. However, on March 21, the court transferred the case to the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office. Due to provisions of juvenile law, prosecutors will not disclose further information about the case beyond saying that both juveniles are being prosecuted for their alleged involvement in a serious crime carrying penalties of at least five years in prison.
Three passengers and the assailant were reportedly injured in a knife attack on the Taichung MRT on Tuesday. The Rapid Transit Brigade of the Taichung Police Department is still investigating the incident, with no motive immediately apparent. Taichung Police Commissioner Lee Wen-chang (李文章) said that at least four people were injured in the attack, and the suspect has been taken into custody. The incident occurred at about 11:15am on a train car near Taichung City Hall Station. Witnesses reported seeing a man attacking others with a knife, while other passengers tried to grab his hair or fend him off with umbrellas. Three people were reportedly
‘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
Schools in Keelung and four New Taipei City districts are to be closed to the public until Wednesday, as police continue searching for an escaped patient convicted of attempted murder. The New Taipei City Government on Tuesday decided to close campuses in Wanli (萬里), Sijhih (汐止), Pingsi (平溪) and Rueifang (瑞芳) districts to outsiders, as the patient was last spotted taking a bus toward Rueifang from Keelung. Police patrols have been increased near schools, the city government said, advising students to travel in groups and not linger near campus. The Keelung City Government earlier announced that campuses and local representative offices in the
Taipei police on Saturday arrested 24 female Thai tourists on suspicion of working as hostesses and engaging in illegal activities at an underground bar in Zhongshan District (中山), the distict’s police precinct said in a statement yesterday. The police also arrested five other people involved in the operation, including the 29-year-old bar owner surnamed Chiang (蔣), and 17 customers, the statement said. The 24 Thai women were fined an undisclosed amount in accordance with the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) by the police and transferred to a National Immigration Agency (NIA) special brigade in Taipei for repatriation to Thailand. The cases of