■Missing persons
AIT issues search appeal
An American by name of Fryderyk M. Frontier went missing in late May, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said yesterday as it issued an appeal to the public to help locate his whereabouts. Frontier arrived in Taiwan on May 20 and reported to a Hess Language School in Chung-ho the next day. This was the last time he was seen, the AIT statement said. However, on May 22, Frontier called a friend in the US and said he planned to go to a national park for a three-day visit before returning to Taipei, the statement said. He has not been heard from since. "Records show that on May 23 he purchased a train ticket to Pingtung. He had expressed an interest in going hiking and in visiting Kaohsiung," the statement said. Anyone with information about Frontier is encouraged to contact the local police or the AIT at aitamict@mail.ait.org.tw.
■ Politics
Former speaker convicted
PFP Legislator Liu Sung-pan (劉松藩), a former speaker of the Legislative Yuan, was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison and a fine of NT$30 million (US$864,550) because of his alleged role in helping a friend getting an illegal loan from a bank. The Taichung District Court determined in its judgment that Liu provided a front company to a friend and helped him get a loan of NT$1.5 billion from the Taichung Commercial Bank in 1998. Liu took a commission of NT$150 million (US$4.32 million) from the friend in return, according to the court. The case came to light when Liu's friend failed to repay the loan. Liu said through one of his staff that he was surprised by the sentence and would appeal it.
■ Education
Winning team returns home
A team of students from the department of computer science and industrial engineering of National Taiwan University returned to Taipei yesterday after winning an international computer-software design competition last month in Washington. The team was led by the department chief Feipei Lai (賴飛羆) and was composed of Kuo Mei-chen (郭美辰), Huang Pao-shuan (黃寶萱), Cheng Hsien-ting (鄭先廷) and Lin Puo-yun (林伯均). The team won the top prize given by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) at the 2003 Computer Society International Design Competition after beating more than 300 competitors in about 170 teams from universities around the world. The team's design -- Novel Educative Wireless -- which helps teachers create a small-class digital-learning interaction with students through the use of a Tablet PC wireless system. The device also won the first "multimedia" prize offered by Microsoft Corp.
■ Cross-strait ties
Ferry sent for ill woman
The Mainland Affairs Council allowed a ferry to sail directly from Kinmen to Fujian Province yesterday to retrieve a seriously ill Taiwanese businesswoman. Direct shipping services between Kinmen and Matsu and Xiamen and Mawei were suspended May 18 over SARS concerns. The council resumed direct Kinmen-Xiamen and Matsu-Mawei cargo services late last month, but direct passenger services have not yet been resumed. Based on humanitarian considerations, the council approved an application by the Kinmen County Government to send a ferry to Xiamen to pick up Chen Chin-lien (陳金蓮), who has cervical cancer and requires emergency surgery, as well as her husband and other family members.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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