DIPLOMACY
French senators arrive
A group of French lawmakers led by French Senate Taiwan Friendship Group chairman Rachid Temal have arrived for a six-day trip, during which they are to meet with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday. The delegation is to attend two banquets hosted by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) respectively, the ministry said in a statement. The group — which includes French senators Jean-Michel Arnaud, Francois Bonneau, Bernard Buis, Yannick Jadot and Mireille Jouve — is to visit the economics, defense and environmental ministries, it added. The delegates are also to visit representatives of the nation’s three major parties, as well as electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co and Sun Moon Lake.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
TRANSPORTATION
Four injured in fire on HSR
Four people were injured on Saturday night when a power bank on a high-speed rail (HSR) train caught fire. At about 9pm, while the train was passing through Yunlin County, a passenger’s power bank caught fire, the Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said. The conductor quickly evacuated passengers from the car and notified the railway police, it said. An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way, it said, adding that if the fire was the result of the passenger’s improper use or handling of the power bank, they would be held legally and financially responsible. The Railway Police Bureau’s Kaohsiung branch said the case would be probed for potential public endangerment.
MILITARY
Museum to open in 2027
The National Military Museum in Taipei is scheduled to open in 2027 and would showcase a range of retired weapons systems, the state-run Military News Agency reported on Saturday. The museum, which is more than two-thirds complete, would feature an M5A1 tank, an F-5 jet, an MIM-23 HAWK missile and an OH-13 helicopter, the museum’s preparatory office said. The seven-story building is to have a 30m-high lobby and a corridor flanked by installations inspired by color guards and marching bands, to create an “awe-inspiring atmosphere” that reflects the discipline of the nation’s armed forces, the office said. The permanent exhibition would span the second through sixth floors, covering themes such as the development of militaries worldwide, World War II, historical battles between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan’s efforts toward defense autonomy and the international situation, it added.
WEATHER
Hot weather forecast: CWA
Hot and sunny weather is forecast across the nation over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency urged people engaging in outdoor activities to take precautions against sun exposure, especially at about midday, and to stay hydrated. Sporadic afternoon showers might occur across the nation, while mountainous regions might experience localized heavy rains, the CWA forecast. From Wednesday to Friday, a tropical disturbance is predicted to pass through the Philippines’ Luzon Island and enter the South China Sea, bringing slightly more moisture and increasing the chances of sporadic afternoon rains or thundershowers in the east, mountainous areas and Pingtung County’s Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
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