WEATHER
Hail peppers Alishan visitors
A rare barrage of hailstones yesterday fell on Alishan, stunning visitors at the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area in southern Chiayi County. Ice pellets of about 0.9cm fell unexpectedly between 2:04pm and 2:18pm, the Central Weather Administration’s Alishan observation station said. The hail near the Jhaoping station on the Alishan Forest Railway line lasted until about 2:40pm, the station said. Many visitors and train passengers were quick to take pictures and film the rare scene, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office workers said. The station, which said the temperature on Alishan at the time was 19.7°C, attributed the hail to a cold-core low pressure system passing over Taiwan. The presence of the system increased the temperature difference between the upper atmosphere and warm surface temperatures, leading to the development of convective currents that can lead to thunderstorms and the formation of hail, it said.
SPORTS
Taiwan wins e-sports title
Taiwanese e-sports team Ban Mei Gaming (BMG) on Sunday defeated a team from Thailand to win this year’s Arena of Valor Premier League championship title in Bangkok. BMG routed Thailand’s Buriram United Esports 4-1 in Arena of Valor, a multiplayer online game, to walk home with US$200,000 of prize money. BMG member Wu Cheng-yen (吳承晏) was also named the Finals’ Most Valuable Player after the tournament. Wu said he first started playing Arena of Valor with friends in elementary school, and later dreamed of becoming a professional player in junior-high school. His parents were against the idea of him trying to make a living in gaming, but soon acquiesced when he convinced them his e-sports skills had surpassed his abilities at school, he said. “They became supportive even before I had won anything,” he added. The tournament, which ran from June 12 to Sunday, featured teams from Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Hong Kong.
SOCIETY
Fewer balloon festival visitors
The annual Taiwan International Balloon Festival on Saturday opened in Taitung County’s Luye Township (鹿野) with fewer visitors than usual, as tourism has been significantly affected after a massive earthquake in April in neighboring Hualien County. About 15,000 visitors attended the opening, the Taitung County Government said. Officials estimated the number of visitors at this year’s opening was about 30 percent lower than in previous years. Pan Kuei-lan (潘貴蘭), vice chairperson of Taitung’s Luminous Hot Spring Resort & Spa and former Taitung Tourism Association head, said that although the crowds were smaller than in previous years, tourists are gradually returning, adding that she hopes that the 45-day event would help bring tourists back to the county. After the opening ceremony, 21 hot air balloons of different designs, including a panda-shaped balloon from Japan and a Matsu (媽祖) balloon created by the county government and Taitung City Tianhou Temple were launched. The festival is to feature more than 40 hot air balloons from 14 countries, Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴) said. In addition, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty, the festival was collaborating with Sanrio Taiwan to present 12 Night Glow Concerts, the most ever in the festival’s history, Taitung County Transportation and Development Department head Pu Ming-cheng (卜敏正) said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
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