The government will begin the construction of an advanced technology development park in Nantou County, central Taiwan, as soon as the plan passes an environmental impact assessment currently underway, the head of the Central Taiwan Science Park Management Administration said yesterday.

The increasing presence of boathouses on the Sun Moon Lake not only disrupts the scenic beauty of the popular tourist Mecca, but also causes environmental pollution to the jade waters, to the point where the Nantou District Prosecutors Office is threatening to bulldoze the entire line of lakefront accommodations if owners do not remove their property by Feb. 24.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party yesterday won the by-election for chief of Caotun Township in the central county of Nantou, with its candidate, Hung Kuo-hao, defeating rival Chien Ching-hsien of the ruling Kuomintang by a tiny margin of only 19 votes.

Seven men and women who went hiking in Nantou County, sent phone messages to their family for help. The police said they might have been lost in Yushan's mountainous area and be in need of food.

People looking to see the first snowfall this winter on top of Hehuanshan (合歡山) in central Taiwan were disappointed yesterday. Visitors at the Hehuan Village were instead greeted by dense mist, heavy rain, 5.7 to 2.4 degree Celsius wind chill and a short midday burst of hail.

The Sun Moon Lake Ropeway greeted its 3 millionth rider yesterday, barely one year after its launch.

As the market price of gold continues to soar, 20 cases of grave robbing in Nantou County's Jiji Township was reported yesterday, with coffins expertly opened and accessories missing on the dead.

Authorities in central Taiwan evacuated inhabitants in mountainous areas and barred hikers from going into the mountains, as Typhoon Fanapi approached.

After a nearly two-day search, rescuers yesterday recovered a body from Sun Moon Lake that was later confirmed to be that of a Malaysian man who went missing during a mass swim across the lake in central Taiwan's Nantou County Sunday.

Nantou County Magistrate Lee Chao-ching signed up yesterday to sponsor a walking event on New Year's Day as part of the Republic of China's 100th anniversary celebrations next year.