TRANSPORTATION
Airport baggage system halts
A global system malfunction halted automated baggage handling at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for about an hour yesterday, causing delays to three flights. Taoyuan International Airport Corp in a news release said the disruption began at 12:30pm after the SITA-operated baggage source message (BSM) system used at its terminals experienced a worldwide outage. The company said it immediately activated its emergency response mechanism, and coordinated with airlines and check-in counters to reroute baggage handling and manually sort baggage to minimize disruption. Following emergency repairs by SITA, the BSM system at the airport resumed normal operations at 1:15pm.
TRADE
Tainan fruit back in Japan
Japanese supermarket Queen’s Isetan is once again to sell top-grade mangoes from Tainan next month, the Tainan City Government said. The announcement came after the retailer’s president, Ryuichi Amemiya, met with Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) on Wednesday to discuss plans to expand imports of the city’s agricultural products to Japan. Huang said red dragon fruit and Irwin mangoes exported to Japan last year were well received, and expressed hope that more agricultural goods from Tainan would be added to the shelves at Queen’s Isetan supermarkets. Amemiya said that many agricultural goods from Tainan have caught the attention of the company, which plans to carry top-grade mangoes from Tainan again on a trial basis next month as a step toward deeper cooperation. He welcomed further recommendations of quality products from Tainan.
TRAFFIC
Vehicles outnumber people
The number of registered motor vehicles — including motorcycles, trucks, coaches and specially built vehicles — had exceeded 23.357 million in Taiwan by the end of last month, surpassing the total population, government statistics showed. There were 23,357,381 registered motor vehicles across Taiwan, marking an increase of 5,200 from a month earlier, Highway Bureau statistics showed. Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of the Interior indicated that at the end of last month, Taiwan had a population of 23,355,470, a year-on-year decline of 58,138. The number of vehicles officially surpassed the total population of Taiwan by 1,911. Citing analysis from the Highway Bureau, the Chinese-language China Times attributed the phenomenon to the unrestricted number of motor vehicles that individuals, businesses, or government agencies can register.
CRIME
Woman indicted over drugs
A Canadian woman allegedly found to have 35.11kg of ketamine in her luggage at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has been indicted on drug smuggling charges. The drugs were discovered hidden in the 33-year-old suspect’s checked luggage during a routine X-ray screening on April 9, Aviation Police Bureau officer Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧) said last week. Initial investigations indicated that a trafficking ring had instructed the woman to travel first to Vienna, then smuggle the drugs into Taiwan under the pretense of tourism, Chang said. The trafficking ring gave the woman C$1,000 (US$728) in cash, in addition to paying for her airfare and accommodation, he added. The woman was indicted under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) last month and faces a minimum seven-year prison sentence if convicted of transporting a Category 3 narcotic.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
ENHANCING DETERRENCE: Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and China’s coastal areas without any logistical difficulties Japan is to deploy extended-range anti-ship missiles at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto to bolster its defenses, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday. The upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, with a range of more than 1,000km, would be capable of striking targets in the Taiwan Strait and along China’s coast. Originally limited to a few hundred kilometers, the Type 12 was recently modernized ahead of schedule. Deployment, initially slated for next year, has been accelerated after the upgrade was completed sooner than expected, the newspaper said. Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu
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