■ Crime
Scam suspect deported
Officials yesterday deported a Japanese national suspected of involvement in a lending scam and of membership in
a major Japanese crime syndicate, police said. Three Japanese police officers escorted Takashi Yamane, 35, on a flight to Tokyo, said Kao Cheng-sen (高政昇), secretary general of the National
Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Bureau. Acting on a tip, police arrested Yamane on May 21 at CKS International Airport, from where he was planning to
fly to Hong Kong, Kao said. Japanese police have accused Yamane of laundering money for the Yamaguchi-gumi,
one of Japan's biggest crime syndicates. The suspect was alleged to have traveled to Taiwan and Southeast Asia to launder money collected by the syndicate's loan sharks, Kao told reporters.
■ Education
Funds raised for camp
Lions International in Taiwan, Taitung Chulu International Vacation Village, All Travel Service Co Ltd, Hang
Bang Tourism and other organizations yesterday announced a joint donation
of NT$1.4 million to send 200 disadvantaged youths to a summer camp in Taitung County to better understand Aboriginal culture. The students will attend the camp with other children in grades three to eight from across the nation. Forty-five four-day sessions will be offered from July 1 to Aug. 15. A total of 7,000 children are expected to attend over this period, with most participants paying over NT$6,000 to take part.
■ Diplomacy
Lu receives award
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) received a human-rights medal from the University of Costa Rica
on Wednesday for her "life-long efforts in promoting democracy and human rights." Lu arrived in Costa Rica at around noon on Wednesday after a three-
day visit to neighboring El Salvador. She was awarded the "best human rights fighter" medal by the university in recognition of her promotion of democracy and human rights over the decades. Lu was imprisoned for more than six years over
a pro-democracy campaign during the nation's martial-law era. Later in the day,
Lu visited the Costa Rican National Assembly, where she attended a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Costa Rica. The two countries signed an agreement in
1944. Costa Rican National Assembly Speaker Gerardo Gonzalez and lawmakers joined Lu at the ceremony.
■ Defense
War games held on Penghu
The military practiced an artillery counterattack early yesterday morning in Penghu as reports revealed China also plans to conduct military exercises later this month. The mock attack against a Chinese blockade took place on the western side of the island chain. The live-ammunition maneuvers included short-distance defensive weapons. Artillerymen attacked imaginary Chinese troops landing on a Penghu beach. Navy and air force officials said the exercises showed that the military could meet any challenge.
■ Government
Up go the fees, naturally
Fees for Certificates of Nationality, Naturalization and other related documents will increase from NT$200 to NT$1,000 from next month, the Ministry of the Interior announced yesterday. The ministry said that the fee hike reflected increasing administrative costs, and that no adjustment had been made since July 1, 1995.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard