WEATHER
Snow falls on Yushan
Snow fell on Taiwan’s tallest mountain, Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山), in Nantou County, amid freezing temperatures early yesterday morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 6am, 5mm of snow had accumulated at the weather station on the highest peak of the mountain, on the northern ridge, at an elevation of 3,952m, the CWA said. It estimated that the snow had fallen on Yushan between midnight and 1am, after which the temperature there dipped to a low of minus-3.1°C at about 2am. On Hehuanshan (合歡山), the heaviest snowfall of this winter season was recorded, the Highway Bureau said. Rime ice and snow pellets fell intermittently from about 8pm on Sunday to early yesterday morning, it said.
Photo courtesy of Huang Tu-feng
HEALTH
Train riders warned
High-speed rail passengers who traveled between Kaohsiung and Taichung late last month in the same train cars with a man diagnosed with measles should contact the Kaohsiung Department of Health, the department said yesterday. It said the Centers for Disease Controls (CDC) on Friday confirmed that the man who traveled on the high-speed rail late last month had been infected with measles. The man traveled from Zuoying to Taichung on Dec. 28 in Car 2 of train No. 160 and went from Taichung to Zuoying on Tuesday last week in Car 4 of train No. 153, it said. The department urged those who traveled in the same cars as the man to contact it at (07)-723-0250 or call the CDC toll-free hotline 1922 as quickly as possible given that measles is highly contagious four days before or after its onset. People who have not been vaccinated or are not immune could be infected with the measles virus within two hours if they were in an enclosed space with an infected person, regardless of duration of exposure, it added.
GUATEMALA
Ambassador visits Lai
Newly appointed Guatemalan Ambassador to Taiwan Luis Raul Estevez Lopez yesterday pledged to enhance 90 years of diplomatic relations, as he presented his credentials to President William Lai (賴清德). Estevez said Taiwan and Guatemala’s long-term friendship is based on shared values of peace-loving, fighting for democracy, a mutually beneficial partnership and respect for international laws. Lai praised Estevez as the perfect man for the position, given the veteran diplomat’s 32 years of experience with Guatemala’s foreign service. Estevez previously served as Guatemala’s representative to the Organization of American States, and to the International Court of Justice, and his appointment as ambassador reflected the high priority Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo has given to his country’s ties with Taiwan, Lai said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS