SPACE
China rocket launch today
China is to launch a rocket carrying a satellite that would likely fly over Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) today, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. It would be one of at least a dozen satellites launched by China in the past two years with a flight path over Taiwan or its ADIZ, but none of them have threatened Taiwan’s security so far, as the rockets have usually left the atmosphere by the time they pass over Taiwan. Since earlier this year, the ministry has routinely issued information about such launches, in what it said is an effort to keep the public informed about China’s activities in the vicinity of Taiwan. The ministry said the satellite would be launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China’s Sichuan Province. The rocket’s flight path would take it toward the western Pacific and over Taiwan’s ADIZ, it said.
CRIME
Deepfake victims win suit
The High Court ruled on Wednesday that two Taiwanese YouTubers found guilty of creating nonconsensual deepfake pornography using the likenesses of real people must compensate their victims for a total of NT$1.85 million (US$56,630). The ruling allows for an appeal. The six Internet celebrities who filed a civil lawsuit against Chu Yu-chen (朱玉宸) and his assistant Chuang Hsin-jui (莊炘睿) would each receive between NT$200,000 and NT$500,000 in emotional distress compensation, the court said. The criminal part of the case was finalized earlier this year, with Chu and Chuang sentenced to five and four-and-a-half years in prison respectively.
CULTURE
Floating library opens
The Doulos Hope, a floating bookshop operated by the German-based Christian charity GBA Ships, opened to the public in Kaohsiung on Wednesday as it began its three-city tour of Taiwan. The former cruise ship docked at Kaohsiung Port’s Pier 8 is stocked with more than 2,000 books on a range of topics, including 320 donated by the Ocean Affairs Council. The Doulos Hope is to be in Kaohsiung until Jan. 12, Hualien from Jan. 16 to Feb. 2 and Keelung from Feb. 6 to March 9, the council said. It is open to the public from 1pm to 8:30pm every day except Tuesday. Visitors are required to book in advance online at https://gbaships.littleboxoffice.com. Tickets cost NT$50, with free admission for children aged six or under and people aged 65 or above.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
Taiwan’s Li Yu-hsiang performs in the men’s singles figure skating short program at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. Li finished 24th with a score of 72.41 to advance to Saturday’s free skate portion of the event. He is the first Taiwanese to qualify for the free skate of men’s singles figure skating at the Olympics since David Liu in 1992.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday held a ceremony marking the delivery of its 11th Anping-class offshore patrol vessel Lanyu (蘭嶼艦), saying it would boost Taiwan’s ability to respond to Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chang Chung-Lung (張忠龍) presided over the CGA event in the Port of Kaoshiung. Representatives of the National Security Council also attended the event. Designed for long-range and protracted patrol operations at sea, the Lanyu is a 65.4m-long and 14.8m-wide ship with a top speed of 44 knots (81.5kph) and a cruising range of 2,000 nautical miles (3704km). The vessel is equipped with a
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
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