ENTERTAINMENT
Climb of 101 postponed
Poor weather yesterday forced US climber Alex Honnold to postpone his “free solo” rope and harness-free ascent of the outside of Taipei 101, one of the world’s tallest buildings. The climb, organized by Netflix for live broadcast, has been rescheduled for this morning, the streamer said on social media. “Safety remains our top priority, and we appreciate your understanding,” it added. The top of Taipei 101 was obscured by cloud yesterday morning, with intermittent rain showers. In 2004, French climber Alain Robert, dubbed “Spider-man” for his ropeless ascents of some of the world’s highest skyscrapers, climbed the building, in a time of four hours with a safety rope.
Photo: Cheng I-Hwa, AFP
SAFETY
Rubbish truck tragedy
A recycling truck driver reportedly lost consciousness on Friday evening, causing the vehicle to crash into a crowd of people throwing trash into a garbage truck, killing a 78-year-old woman, according to local authorities. The incident occurred at about 6pm in Taoyuan’s Gueishan District (龜山), and left six others injured, including the 52-year-old driver, who were all taken to hospital, the city’s fire department said. The 78-year-old woman, surnamed Chiu (邱), was trapped underneath the truck and reportedly had no vital signs at the scene. She was rushed to hospital, but later pronounced dead. According to authorities, the casualties include an 83-year-old woman surnamed Ting (丁), who sustained an open fracture to her right leg, and a 39-year-old man surnamed Huang (黃), who sustained a wound to his leg and reported abdominal pain. Wu has no significant health problems and passed a mandatory breath alcohol test before his shift began, authorities said, adding that the exact cause of the incident remains under investigation.
SPORTS
Badminton bow-out
Chi Yu-jen (戚又仁), the only Taiwanese badminton player remaining in the men’s singles at this year’s Indonesia Masters, was eliminated after losing in straight games in the semi-finals yesterday. World No. 27 Chi was defeated by Indonesia’s world No. 18 Alwi Farhan 21-11, 21-12 in 35 minutes. Alwi confounded Chi with his precise smashes that repeatedly landed deep in the corners or just inside the sidelines, while Chi struggled with unforced errors and led only twice in the match, both times in the second game. Despite the loss, the semi-final run in Jakarta was the 28-year-old Taiwanese’s best result in a Super 500-level tournament or higher.
ECONOMY
Overtime work steady
About 24.6 percent of employees in Taiwan said they had been asked to work outside of scheduled hours, down by 0.9 percentage points from 2024, the Ministry of Labor said on Friday. The latest survey garnered 4,029 valid responses and found that these workers received orders from their companies to do tasks for their employers outside of scheduled hours by phone, over the Internet, or on messaging apps like Line. The ministry said that 36.6 percent of respondents worked overtime last year, little changed from 36.3 percent in 2024. While 88.1 percent of those who worked overtime said they were compensated with overtime pay or additional leave, 21.8 percent of the “other category” in the service sector, such as laundry, beauty treatment, funeral services and housework services, said they did not receive compensation. More than 20 percent in the real estate, video/audio publication, and information and communications industry also said so.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
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