■ 228 incident
Lu wants to find the facts
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday urged the public to find the facts about the 1947 228 Incident, saying that more conferences and grassroots participation is necessary to highlight the significance of the event. "Relatives of the victims who died in this incident still suffer the pains of having lost family members because the government can't concretely tell the public how the event happened," Lu said attending a conference to discuss the role of the military in the 228 Incident yesterday. Lu visited the historic site in Keelung where the 21st division of the army landed in 1947 to suppress the island-wide protest against KMT rule. Lu has urged the government to continue to find the documents and achieves related to the incident in the private sector and government departments to complete the task of discovering the truth about the event.
■ Asylum
Police keep eye on Xu Po
A Chinese man who is seeking political asylum in Taiwan is living comfortably in a Taoyuan hotel under 24-hour guard by police while his application is being processed, an officer at the Aviation Police Bureau said yesterday. Xu Po (徐波) is under house confinement but is allowed out each day with a police escort for walks. He has also been given a computer to use. Xu can contact those outside of the hotel after receiving permission from police, a bureau officer said. Commissioner of the Aviation Police Bureau Chang Si-liang (張四良) visited Xu on Lunar New Year's eve, Jan. 31, and gave him a red envelope with an undisclosed sum of money and a fruit basket, the officer said. Xu disembarked from a plane that was making a stopover in Taiwan on its way from Seoul to Bangkok Jan. 26. He claimed to be a democracy activist in China and sought political asylum. Considering him a possible political refugee, local authorities have been consulting their counterparts in South Korea and international refugee organizations on Xu's case.
■ Justice
Ministry looks to Europe
The Ministry of Justice will do its best to sign judicial assistance accords with other countries, especially those in Europe, to combat crime, ministry officials said yesterday. This remains a top priority for the ministry and it wishes to forge such an agreement with Switzerland, the officials said. The officials noted that countries involved in the high-profile Lafayette-frigate scandal are all European. Taiwan has been unable to obtain the objective until now due to the lack of formal diplomatic relations with most European nations, they said. Taiwan signed a judicial assistance accord with the US in March last year.
■ Health
WMA head to visit
World Medical Association President Dr. Kati Myllymaki is slated to reach Taipei today for a six-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The Finnish doctor is expected to visit officials involved in Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the ministry. These officials include Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂), deputy head of the Department of Health Lee Lung-teng (李龍騰), as well as ambassador-at-large Wu Yung-tung (吳運東), according to the press release. Wu also serves as president of the Taiwan Medical Association. She is also to visit National Taiwan University Hospital and other establishments, the statement said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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