Following in the footsteps of Keelung and Taichung, Taipei Harbor will launch a direct passenger service between Taiwan and China on May 13, Taiwan International Ports Corp. (TIPC) said yesterday.

“Tung flowers are blossoming all over New Taipei City.” This was the message yesterday from Pong Huey-yuan (彭惠圓), New Taipei's Hakka Affairs commissioner, who added that there are 19 trails offering scenic tung flower viewing throughout the city's 10 districts.

The Taipei City Government's Traffic Engineering Office (TEO, 交通管制工程處) will create 170 new pedestrian-only lanes over the next two years.

Taipei City Department of Environmental Protection (環保局) officials Chen Yu-ta (陳裕達) and Liu Shao-fu (劉少甫) yesterday were indicted by Taipei prosecutors over allegations of bribery.

Former Commissioner Richard Chen (陳樁亮) of the Taipei City Government Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) was questioned yesterday by Taipei prosecutors over the controversial Twin Towers bidding process.

Taipei City Government yesterday announced that the new Xinyi metro line (信義線) will be operational before the end of this year, adding that the line will operate between Beitou Station (北投) and Xiangshan Station (象山) in Xinyi District.

The Xinbeitou (新北投) Station building based currently in the Taiwanese Folk Village, Chunghua County, will be relocated to its former site in Taipei, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA, 台北市文化局) said yesterday.

The Keelung and Greater Taipei governments announced yesterday that the plan to launch a special high school admission examination based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has been cancelled.

Premier Jiang Yi-huah led a team of roughly 100 Cabinet officials and media personnel yesterday into the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant to hear safety inspection reports and oversee the near-finished construction site.

Taipei prosecutors yesterday indicted Hsieh Yi-han (謝依涵), the chief suspect of a high-profile double homicide, on murder charges for the deaths of two people in New Taipei's Bali District this February, officially concluding the months-long investigations.