A public memorial concert is to be held at Taipei Main Station at 7pm on Wednesday to commemorate the victims of the 2021 Hualien Taroko Express train derailment, known locally as the “0402 accident.”
Chen Meng-hsiu (陳孟秀), an attorney representing the victims’ families, said yesterday that the concert would mark the fourth anniversary of the rail accident that killed 49 people and injured 309 — the deadliest in Taiwan Railway Co’s nearly 60-year history.
This year’s memorial theme — “Eternal Love and Remembrance” — includes a unique light beam installation designed to symbolize hope, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of Chen Meng-hsiu
The light beams would shine through the Heren (和仁), Cingshuei (清水) and Chongde (崇德) tunnels along the North-Link Line, which connects Yilan County’s Suao Township (蘇澳) and Hualien City, she said.
The 2021 crash occurred at the northern entrance to the Cingshuei Tunnel (清水隧道).
The light installation, inspired by similar tributes to the Sept. 11 attacks in the US in 2001 and the Amagasaki derailment in Japan in 2005, is meant to transform families’ grief into “eternal love” and act as a reminder of railway safety, Chen said.
Taiwan Railways official Chien Hsin-li (簡信立) said that the lights would be activated at the moment Taroko Express train 408 — the train with the same number as the one that derailed four years ago — passes through the area on Wednesday.
The light effects would continue for seven days as part of the memorial, he added.
The light installation would not interfere with train drivers’ ability to see, as it is designed to be safe for passengers and staff, Chien said.
In addition to the concert, Taiwan Railways would distribute information cards about the memorial on all trains along the North-Link Line, Chien added.
The concert is open to the general public, he said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS