The quake came amid a warning that the weight of the world's tallest skyscraper may cause an increase in temblors.

The quake struck at 18:15 pm (1015 GMT) with an epicentre around 7.3 kilometres (4.38 miles) southeast of the capital, the Seismology Center said.

The tremor, which originated 64.3 kilometers below the earth, was strongly felt in Taipei, although there were no immediate reports of damage.

In scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters, an earthquake specialist from National Taiwan Normal University warned last month that the 1,679-foot (511-metre) Taipei 101 sits on a fault line and its weight of 700,000 tons may be leading to increased seismic activity.

But the Seismology Center has rejected the warning with its experts saying the theory lacked sufficient data.

The skyscraper was unveiled on December 31 last year, just five days after an earthquake off Indonesia sent killer tsunamis across the Indian Ocean.

The skyscraper is installed with a 660-ton device 5.5 meters (18.15 feet) in diameter designed to reduce swaying in the event of strong winds or earthquakes.

Taiwan, lying near the junction of two tectonic plates, is shaken regularly by earthquakes. The country's worst, measuring 7.6 on the Richter sale, struck in September 1999 and left some 2,400 people dead.

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