TRAVEL
Wuling Farm lifts controls
Wuling Farm in Taichung lifted its cherry blossom season traffic controls yesterday, making it more accessible for people who want to view the stunning flora at the farm, which is home to more than 20,000 cherry blossom trees. The farm typically imposes traffic controls during peak bloom periods, which this year began on Feb. 13 and ended yesterday, as the trees typically bloom in February. The farm said some species which blossomed on time have already begun to wilt, painting a scene of falling pink. The sight is further accentuated by late bloomers whose flowers have just opened. The farm said it saw an increase in visitors over the extended weekend.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsun, Taipei Times
ENTERTAINMENT
‘Rain Horse’ to join festival
Paper Windmill Theatre’s children’s play Rain Horse (雨馬) would be staged six times at this year’s Lantern Festival in Chiayi County, accompanied by a 10m-tall, 13m-long horse-shaped installation of the same name, organizers said. The installation would also join the Team Taiwan parade on Saturday, the county’s Culture and Tourism Bureau said. Rain Horse, a collaboration between the Hakka Affairs Council and Paper Windmill Theatre, was adapted from a picture book by writer Hsiao Yeh (小野), and was first performed in 2021. Created against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many children were unable to go outside and lost out on the joys of daily life, the production carries themes of comfort, companionship and growing up in difficult times, the bureau said. The festival begins tomorrow and would run until March 15.
WEATHER
Rain to bring in cold
Brief showers are forecast across Taiwan beginning today as a cold front approaches, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The rain is expected to bring cooler temperatures tomorrow and on Wednesday, with daytime highs of 19°C to 20°C in the north, 25°C to 27°C in the south and about 24°C in central Taiwan, the CWA said. Northern areas could see overnight lows of about 16°C, and 16°C to 19°C for central and southern areas, it said. Temperatures are forecast to rebound on Thursday, with rain receding to the north, mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, and the Hengchun Peninsula, the CWA said. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said northeasterly winds would strengthen again on Friday, bringing localized brief showers and lower temperatures to the north and the east.
SOCIETY
Worker found dead in tank
A worker at a Taichung company was found dead in a sewage tank yesterday, the Taichung Fire Bureau said. The bureau said it received a report at 10:50am from a company in Wuci District (梧棲) that it had lost contact with a 64-year-old worker, surnamed Chen (陳), during a chemical feeding operation. Rescue personnel dispatched to the scene found Chen dead in the tank after partially draining the wastewater. Police said there were no visible external injuries on his body, and a preliminary forensic examination found no signs of foul play. Taichung’s Department of Labor Inspection said it sent people to conduct an occupational accident investigation and ordered the company to suspend operations pending improvements to workplace safety conditions. If the company is found to have contravened the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the case could be referred to judicial authorities, it said.
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday bestowed one of Taiwan’s highest honors on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman in recognition of her contributions to bilateral ties. “By conferring the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Ambassador Bowman today, I want to sincerely thank her, on behalf of the Taiwanese people, for her outstanding contribution to deepening diplomatic ties between Taiwan and SVG,” Lai said at a ceremony held at the Presidential Office in Taipei. He noted that Bowman became SVG’s first ambassador to Taiwan in 2019 and
A man walks past elementary school artworks at the Taipei Lantern Festival in Ximen District yesterday, the first day of the event. The festival is to run from 5pm to 10pm through March 15.
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