FOOD
Special dish to be launched
The Ministry of Agriculture yesterday said it and Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co would jointly launch a spring special offer on hybrid tiger giant grouper dishes from Thursday next week. The dishes would be made by Michelin-starred chefs, including fish on spring vegetable mille-feuille with marmalade. It would be available on Nishi-Nippon Railroad’s tourist trains for three months, while Taiwan-style grouper fillet and bento would be sold at the railway company’s supermarkets from next month. Japan has permitted imports of the hybrid grouper from Taiwan since October last year. The ministry collaborated with Nishi-Nippon Railroad to promote the fish among Japanese.
SPORTS
Crowds expected at Dome
A near full house is expected at the 40,000-capacity Taipei Dome for Taiwan’s decisive 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) qualifying playoff against Spain tonight. All additional NT$500 tickets released for today’s game were snapped up within seconds of going on sale, tixCraft said. Capacity was increased after a loss to Nicaragua consigned Taiwan to the second-versus-third playoff on Sunday. The four-team qualifying tournament at the Taipei Dome, one of two for the WBC, comprises a six-game round-robin and a single-elimination playoff for the teams finishing second and third. Taiwan finished third in the round-robin section following a 12-5 loss to Spain, a 9-1 win over South Africa and a 6-0 defeat to Nicaragua, which clinched them a spot at next year’s WBC. Taiwan’s previous qualifier games saw strong attendance, drawing 35,325 fans against Spain on Friday, 35,868 against South Africa on Saturday and 35,565 against Nicaragua on Sunday.
POLITICS
Taichung mayor visits Japan
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) departed for Japan yesterday to focus on city diplomacy and to study Japan’s domed stadiums to help accelerate the construction of Taichung’s large multi-purpose dome. Speaking to reporters before her departure, Lu emphasized Japan’s significance as a key partner for Taiwan and Taichung. The six-day trip is her first visit to Japan since taking office six years ago. It includes stops in Sapporo, Nagoya and Tokyo, with four days dedicated to official engagements, she said. Lu said her delegation would visit four of Japan’s domed stadiums, and study their functions, operational models and financial strategies. Construction of Taichung Arena is under way, while the city plans to build another domed stadium capable of hosting baseball games and large-scale international performances, Lu said.
HEALTH
Premier issues ER order
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday instructed the Ministry of Health and Welfare to report on measures to address overcrowding in hospital emergency rooms (ER) across the country, Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said. Due to unprecedented overcrowding in ERs, the Taiwan Society of Emergency Medicine on Saturday issued a rare call for help, saying that if the situation worsens, hospitals could face a mass resignation of emergency medical workers. Lee said the number of patients seeking emergency treatment for flu-related complications this season has been several times higher than in the past nine years. The ministry said it would continue to assist hospitals in allocating medical staff and hospital beds, and improving triage systems and patient transfers, while some medical institutions have initiated internal staff adjustments.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
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