This Week in Taiwan 0404-0410
April 5: A Taroko Express train operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration crashed with a construction truck on April 2, causing 49 deaths and 216 injuries. Through interviews, roadside security cameras, and driving recorder videos, investigators punctured the lies of the site director Lee Yi-hsiang, indicating that Lee drove the construction truck carrying waste tires to the site for dumping but was stuck between trees when he turned. Lee attempted to free the truck with an excavator, but the sling fell loose unexpectedly, causing the construction truck to fall down a slope onto the rail. The disastrous train collision occurred more than a minute later.
Lee has been taken into custody, and the Hualien District Court has seized Li and Dong Hsin construction company's assets of over NT$800 million (about US$28 million).
Authorities will continue to investigate issues of official-business collusion and construction fraud.
April 5: China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) stated that the Liaoning aircraft carrier formation conducted drills in the waters around Taiwan on April 4, routine training organized under an annual work plan. Similar training activities will be routinely planned in the future.
Regarding this, the Ministry of National Defense stressed that the Armed Forces has a full grasp of the maritime and air space developments surrounding Taiwan and will respond appropriately.
According to Japan's Ministry of Defense, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier of the United States was reported to have moved from the Strait of Malacca into the South China Sea. The movement of American and Chinese air craft carriers to the south and north of waters around Taiwan has aroused concern by countries within the Indo-Pacific region.
April 6: The PLA conducted landing drills in the South China Sea to simulate seizing islands, putting the Dongsha and Taiping islands administered by Taiwan under stress. According to a report submitted to the Legislative Yuan by the Ocean Affairs Council, the Dongsha and Taiping islands are equipped with 168 and 124 units of Kestrel rocket launchers self-developed by Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, which may be used in defensive operations such as anti-boat wave attacks and anti-landing activities.
April 6: One sea drift pig infected with the African swine fever appeared in Wanli in New Taipei. This is the first time after discovering many such dead infected sea drift pigs in places like Kinmen that they are observed in the main island of Taiwan. The African Swine Fever Central Disaster Response Center stated that blood tests at 11 pig farms within a radius of 10 kilometers were negative, ruling out the domestic abandonment of dead pigs as the cause. It is presumed that these pigs drifted by sea from the Chinese mainland.
April 6: According to the Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan's population saw negative growth for the first time last year, with the total number of newborns falling below 10,000 in January for the first time, totaling 9,601. Additionally, only about 120,000 couples were married last year, with a marriage rate of 5.16 per 1,000, the lowest in 11 years, threatening to affect the birth rate.
April 9: The annual pilgrimage of Mazu organized by the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung began the nine-days, eight-nights procession. Some 10,000 believers escorted the Mazu goddess by kneeling in worship, and all participants wore face masks to comply with epidemic prevention measures. It is estimated that the entire procession will attract the participation of 600,000 people. The incense worship activity at Baishatun in Miaoli attracted nearly 78,000 registrations, breaking a new record. The pilgrimage will proceed again the late evening of April 11.
April 9: The term of Governor Yang Chin-long of the Central Bank is past the half-way mark and about to enter an observation period to determine whether he will be re-appointed. Three former and incumbent directors of the Central Bank co-authored a new book criticizing the mistaken monetary policy under Governor Perng Fai-nan, Yang's respected predecessor. Incumbent Deputy Governor Chen Nan-kuang even endorsed the critical book in the preface, intending to weaken Governor Yang's authority as Perng's successor. The battle for governorship of the Central Bank has started ahead of time. Governor Yang quoted President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States, satirizing cold-eyed onlookers for not having to bear the success or failure of policies and only pointing fingers at the courageous, indirectly defending the reputation of Perng. The power struggle has attracted the attention of political observers.