SOCIETY
Japan makes form change
Japan yesterday began allowing people to write “Taiwan” in the nationality field on household registration forms. The change lets Taiwanese who live in Japan change their registration from “China” to “Taiwan.” To register a household in Japan, one must be a Japanese citizen. Foreign spouses of Japanese citizens and foreign-born people who obtain Japanese citizenship have their nationality recorded in the household registry. The Ministry of the Interior said that about 800 to 1,000 Taiwanese marry Japanese annually. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that through correct descriptions in family registers, the rights and interests of Taiwanese in Japan would be further protected.
WEATHER
Cool weather to continue
Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed that at 8:30am yesterday, the temperature in Taipei dropped to 17.3°C, the second-lowest on record for late May since 2000. The cooler temperatures were brought by seasonal winds, the CWA said, adding that the wet and cool weather would last until late today. Some coastal areas might experience winds of 39kph, with gusts of 62kph until tonight, it said. By today, the rain is expected to ease in most areas except in Keelung, where occasional showers are likely to persist, the CWA said. National Central University Department of Atmospheric Sciences adjunct associate professor Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that another weather front is expected to approach Taiwan late tomorrow and would bring more rain. Most parts of the nation would see significant rainfall on Thursday, with some areas experiencing torrential rain, lightning and high winds, Wu said.
CULTURE
Museum to raise prices
The National Museum of Natural Science yesterday said it would raise some of its ticket prices for the first time since it opened in 1986. Starting on July 1, an adult ticket would cost NT$120, up from NT$100, while the price for the museum’s Dinosaur Card membership would rise from NT$300 to NT$360, the museum said. Tickets would cost NT$60 for children aged six to 12 and student groups of 20 or more, and for seniors aged 65 and older during holidays, it said. Tickets for students older than 12 and groups of more than 20 would cost NT$90, it added. Museum Director Huang Wen-san (黃文山) said that recent facility upgrades, made a price increase necessary. Discounted ticket prices are to remain unchanged, as would admission fees for the Botanical Garden, the Science Center, the Space Theater, the 3D Theater, the 921 Earthquake Museum, the Chelungpu Fault Preservation Park and the Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park.
SOCIETY
Worker dies in construction accident
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) yesterday confirmed that a worker died after an accident at its under-construction packaging plant in Chiayi County. TSMC said it had halted all construction at the plant. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it received a report that a transformer box had fallen and struck a worker after the forklift operator transporting the box failed to notice a drop in the ground. TSMC said onsite personnel administered first aid immediately and an ambulance took the worker to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The company said it would cooperate with authorities in their investigation into the accident and assist the worker’s contractor with the aftermath of his death.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)