WEATHER
Temperatures fall to 10.7°C
Early-morning temperatures yesterday dipped to 10.7°C in Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), the lowest recorded in Taiwan’s low-lying areas that day, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The second-lowest temperature recorded in any low-lying area in Taiwan yesterday was in Miaoli County’s Sihu Township (西湖) at 11.4°C, CWA data showed. The cold conditions were due to the influence of radiative cooling, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu De-rong (吳德榮) said. Citing European weather model data, he said the northeasterly monsoon would begin strengthening this morning, increasing moisture and bringing a chance of brief showers to parts of northern and eastern Taiwan, along with a drop in temperatures. The strongest cold air of the season is expected from Saturday to Monday next week, with temperatures in Taiwan’s low-lying areas possibly dropping below 10°C, he said. However, due to weather forecasting limitations, models would continue to be adjusted, and forecasts from different countries vary in intensity and timing, so it is still too early to draw firm conclusions, Wu added.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
SOCIETY
Two men killed in car crash
A 73-year-old driver and his 29-year-old grandson were killed early yesterday morning in Taitung County when their car hit a roadside electricity distribution box, local police said. The Taitung County Police Bureau’s Chengkung Precinct said it dispatched firefighters from the county fire department to the scene after receiving a report of the accident at about 7am. Upon arrival, rescuers found the occupants of the vehicle, both surnamed Lee (李), trapped inside and in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. After being extricated from the wreckage, the pair were rushed to a hospital for emergency treatment, but were later pronounced dead, the police said. They found that the grandfather was driving his grandson to Taitung City to take the civil service exam when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle veered to the right and struck a roadside electrical distribution box. Nearby residents called police when they heard the crash. The police precinct did not speculate on the cause of the accident and said an investigation was under way.
TECHNOLOGY
Xiaohongshu downloads surge
The Chinese app Xiaohongshu (小紅書, also known as RedNote in English) was the top-ranked app in the free social category on Apple’s App Store charts over the past two days, despite the Criminal Investigate Bureau on Thursday last week ordering Internet service providers (ISPs) to block the app for failing to meet cybersecurity requirements and widespread fraud on the platform. Meanwhile, a virtual private network tool that can change a user’s Internet location also topped the tools category on the charts. Xiaohongshu has more than 3 million Taiwanese users. Although still available for download on mobile stores despite the order, ISPs are to slow requests to the app to make it load slower over time, until it effectively becomes unusable. The bureau said the government treats all noncompliant platforms equally. Citing Meta Platforms as an example, the bureau said the company has been penalized three times this year for undisclosed advertisements, poor management and failure to remove scams, with fines totaling NT$18.5 million (US$591,848). However, unlike Xiaohongshu, major platforms with large user bases in Taiwan — including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube and Line — have all complied with government regulations, the bureau said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
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