SPORTS
Golf prize rises to US$1.5m
The Taiwan Ladies Professional Golf Association (TLPGA) on Friday announced that the 2025 Foxconn TLPGA Players Championship is to tee off on Feb. 27, with total prize money of US$1.5 million, US$500,000 more than last year. Sponsored by Taiwanese manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group, this year’s championship is the second edition of the annual event. Organizers said that this year’s tournament would again be held at the Orient Golf and Country Club in Guishan District (龜山) from Feb. 27 to March 2. Hon Hai also increased the total purse from US$1 million to US$1.5 million, nearer to the prize money offered at tournaments on the US’ Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, which are at least US$2 million. While a finalized roster is to be published on Jan. 17, the organizers said that Taiwan’s Wu Chia-yen (吳佳晏) and Hou Yu-sang (侯羽桑) have been confirmed to participate in the event. In addition, former world No. 1-ranked South Korean professional golfer Shin Ji-yai is also to play in her first event in Taiwan in seven years.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Ladies Professional Golf Association
TRANSPORTATION
Bureau warns of fine scam
The Highway Bureau on Friday warned of scam messages asking for payments of outstanding traffic fines. The fraudulent text messages or e-mails instruct the recipient to click on a link to pay an outstanding traffic fine before a certain deadline, the bureau said in a news release. Recipients should not click the links, as they do not originate from the bureau and are designed to defraud the recipient, it said. While the Highway Bureau sends text messages reminding people to pay outstanding fines, they are simply reminders and never include links, it said. Do not click links from unknown senders, it added. Recipients who are unsure if a text message or e-mail is legitimate should contact their local motor vehicle office to verify the messages, it said.
SOCIETY
Malay, Thai added to sites
The Ministry of Culture has launched Malay and Thai versions of its Web site to introduce Taiwan’s culture to audiences in Malaysia and Thailand, as part of the government’s New Southbound Policy, it said. The ministry said the two new Web sites provide an overview of the ministry’s core policies and achievements in cultural exchanges with Malaysia and Thailand. The sites include sections about contemporary Taiwanese artists, including masters and luminaries in their fields, as well as information about art venues, providing an overview of Taiwanese art and culture, it said. The ministry already provides versions of its Web site in English, Japanese, French, Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia, which are part of its ongoing efforts to promote Taiwanese culture to global audiences since 2013, it said. The New Southbound Policy was launched in 2016 to bolster economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and ASEAN members, Australia, New Zealand and South Asian countries such as India.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
SECURITY RISK: A university student sent a general alarm signal to THSRC’s control center on April 5, causing four operating trains to temporarily halt services The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday pledged to submit a report on ways to harden the communication security of railway systems after a university student hacked into Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s (THSRC) radio communications system and disrupted operations of four high-speed rail trains last month. Investigation by the police and prosecutors found that the university student and radio enthusiast, surnamed Lin (林), first used a software-defined radio (SDR) filter to analyze THSRC signals, downloaded the data to a computer, cracked the parameters and then programmed the codes into his radio devices. Lin then sent a general alarm signal to
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