■ Law
Death penalty ruling upheld
The Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence handed to a boat captain for the drowning of six Chinese women, a court official said yesterday. The court Thursday rejected the appeal of Wang Chung-hsing (王中興), convicted of homicide and given a death sentence by the high court. A crew member was sentenced to life in prison for the same offence. Wang and his crew member Ko Ching-sung (柯清松) were accused of pushing 13 Chinese women into the sea when their human smuggling vessel was spotted by Taiwan's coast patrol in August last year. Six women drowned. The supreme court also upheld the life sentence for Ko along with a NT$200,000 fine.
■ Politics
Ex-legislative speaker dies
Former Legislative Speaker and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) old guard Liang Su-jung (梁肅戎) passed away yesterday as a result of complications brought on by pneumonia. Liang was admitted into the hospital on Aug. 15 for having a serious cold. His condition soon deteriorated, and he went into shock on Wednesday. He died late yesterday night. Liang is survived by his three sons and three daughters. A close friend of Liang's said that whenever Liang was ill, he remained concerned with the merger plan for the pan-blue camp, and he even took a day's leave from the hospital to visit KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) to express his support for the merger. Liang was a firm supporter of reunification with China. He was 84 years old.
■ Military
MND helps typhoon victims
The military expanded its assistance of victims of Typhoon Aere yesterday. According to a press release by the Ministry of National Defense, it assigned another 4,128 soldiers, 143 planes, 25 pumps, 131 dumpster trucks help clear the destruction brought on by the typhoon. Taipei County's Sanchung and Hsinchuang areas severely flooded during the typhoon on which struck the nation on Aug. 24 and Aug. 25. In Hsinchu's Wufong Township, where mudslide allegedly buried 15 people alive, the army sent C-47 aircraft to carry four compact bulldozers to help local residents clean up the remains of their homes. The ministry said that it will assign more military personnel to join rescue activities or help residents recover from the devastation.
■ Health
Donations sought care fees
Officials of Taiwan's representative office in Canada have recently called for financial relief for a teenage girl, Chien Hsiao-an (簡孝安), from Taiwan who has been receiving treatment for cancer at a hospital in Montreal since early summer. The officials said Chien flew to Montreal from Taiwan at the beginning of her summer vacation to visit relatives. During her stay there, however, she was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal after doctors there diagnosed that her cancer had metastased to her brain. Chien underwent emergency surgery at the hospital. However, before she can leave the country, her family has to pay over US$250,000 in hospital fees, as well as an additional US$43,500 for the medical flight, according to the office. The officials said that because they lack medical insurance in Canada, the family now faces great financial difficulties.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
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