TRANSPORTATION
Platform ticket prices to rise
Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) on Friday said that it has resumed the sale of platform tickets for all stations, with the price per ticket rising from NT$6 to NT$22. A platform ticket allows people to access TRC train station platforms, but they cannot board trains. They are useful for people who wish to pick up or drop off friends and family members. Sales for such tickets were discontinued at more than 170 stations in June 2013, except for five stations in Taichung and other places. The TRC said it resumed selling platform tickets on June 23, and that the tickets are available at station ticket counters or automated ticket machines. The NT$22 platform ticket allows entry for up to one hour. People who purchase a platform ticket and stay longer than one hour, but less than three hours would need to pay an additional NT$139 on top of the original ticket, the TRC said. If they stay for more than three hours, an additional NT$911 would be charged, it added.
Photo: CNA
SOCIETY
Man killed by dogs
The Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday said that a 76-year-old man surnamed Tsai (蔡), who was found dead on a beach in Kaohsiung after swimming in the ocean, was mauled and killed by three stray dogs. The office disclosed its findings after prosecutors and a forensic pathologist determined Tsai died of massive blood loss. The body was released to the family, who did not contest the office’s conclusion, it said. The coast guard unit at Yong-an Fishing Port said Tsai was found on the beach at 4pm on Thursday without vital signs, and that his body was covered in bite marks, 10 minutes after a report about the attack was received. The man was identified by the Kaohsiung City Police Department’s Gangshan Precinct, which said it notified prosecutors after he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
SOCIETY
Man falls to death
A 67-year-old man surnamed Lu (呂) fell to his death from a rooftop in New Taipei City on Thursday after attempting to prevent an air-conditioning unit from falling, as it was being hoisted onto the roof of a five-story apartment, police said. An initial investigation found that Lu had tried to grab the air-conditioner when it came loose during the hoisting process and fell to the ground along with the unit. The incident occurred at about 4pm. The workers delivering and installing the air-conditioner had decided to hoist the machine onto the rooftop, because the stairwell was too narrow. Upon arrival, police found Lu without a heartbeat, and he was later pronounced dead at a hospital after efforts to resuscitate him failed. The four workers were referred by the police to prosecutors on suspicion of negligent homicide.
CULTURE
Taiwan to present in Osaka
Taiwan is to present a cultural program from Aug. 2 to 20 titled “We Taiwan” at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, to show the country as an “island of miracles” with unlimited innovation, the Ministry of Culture said. “We Taiwan” includes an exhibition at “VS.,” a creative hub designed for new media exhibitions and immersive events, the ministry said. The “Taiwan Spectrum” exhibition is “a sensory journey that spans geography, history, culture and contemporary art,” and uses light, shadow and sound, it said. Admission to “We Taiwan” is free of charge, but some events require advance registration through the event’s Line account, http://lin.ee/GwlNGiT, the ministry said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
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