■ 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.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
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