SAFETY
Go Ocean app use advised
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) is urging beachgoers to check real-time ocean conditions using the Go Ocean mobile app, following a series of drowning incidents as summer draws more people to the coast. The advisory comes after a high-school student drowned off Fangliao Township (枋寮) in Pingtung County on Sunday, one of several fatal or near-fatal incidents linked to dangerous sea conditions in recent weeks, the CGA said yesterday. Developed by the National Academy of Marine Research, the app provides color-coded warnings and integrates data from multiple sources to display wave height, wind speed and current strength. An English-language version of the app is also available. In the event of an emergency, the public is advised to call 118 for assistance, the CGA added.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
SOCIETY
Angler killed by lightning
A man believed to be a migrant worker died yesterday after being struck by lightning while fishing in Taichung. The man, estimated to be about 30 years old, had not yet been identified, as no ID card was found on him, the Taichung Fire Bureau said. The bureau received a report at 4:51pm about a male angler struck by lightning near a bridge in Houli District (后里), prompting emergency personnel to rush to the scene. The man showed no vital signs upon their arrival and was transported to a hospital, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
TRANSPORT
Taipei halts road project
A plan announced in March by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) to remove a traffic circle at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Keelung Road, as well as an adjacent bus underpass in the city’s Gongguan (公館) area, has been paused following calls from city councilors for greater public consultation. Taipei City Department of Transportation Commissioner Hsieh Ming-hong (謝銘鴻) agreed to postpone the construction, which was scheduled to begin on Saturday next week, after the Taipei City Council’s Transportation Committee passed a motion to hold a public hearing on June 30. The traffic circle sits at the intersection with the highest number of traffic incidents and injuries in Taipei for seven consecutive years, averaging one incident every four days, Hsieh said.
CRIME
Prosecutor scam busted
A Malaysian man has been arrested in Taichung for allegedly collecting cash and bank cards from a 79-year-old woman who was duped in a fake prosecutor scam, police said on Sunday. The Taichung Police Department’s Second Precinct said officers from Liren Police Station spotted the man handing a paper bag and a red envelope to the woman on Shenyang N Road in Beitun District (北屯) on Wednesday last week — a textbook handoff in a cash scam — and called for backup. The woman later told investigators that she had received a phone call from someone claiming to be a “district prosecutor,” who accused her of involvement in a money laundering case and threatened court detention unless she handed over a “security deposit” along with her bank cards for “account monitoring.” She ultimately gave the man NT$3,900 in cash and two bank cards containing a combined total of NT$720,592. Police arrested the man after confirming he was involved in the scam and seized the NT$3,900, two mobile phones, two bank cards, a forged promissory note from the “Taipei District Court” and a sealed envelope.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
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