■ Society
Centenarians multiplying
Taiwan has 713 centenarians, with an average age of 101.7, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The ministry was publicizing the approaching Chungyang Festival, which falls on Oct. 22 this year and which has been used to honor senior citizens since 1966. The ministry said the oldest person in the country is a 120-year-old woman, while the oldest man is 109. Both live in Taipei. The number of centenarians jumped by 57 from last year, the report said, adding that 91 percent of centenarians are aged between 100 and 104. Women account for 496, or 69.6 percent, of the centenarians. By location, Taipei City boasts the largest number of centenarians at 150, followed by Taipei County at 100 and Taoyuan County at 59.
■ Crime
Trio nabbed in Thailand
Three Taiwanese men have been arrested for alleged drug-trafficking in Thailand after being found with 20kg of heroin, Thai police said yesterday. Kao Chih-ping, 35, Chiang Ching-huang, 47, and Chen Chien-hung, 42, said they had been hired to take the drugs to Taiwan where they had a street value of more than US$1 million, according to police. Police officers said they found a quarter of the haul yesterday in the luggage of one of the men as he was checking in at Bangkok's international airport for a flight returning to Taiwan. The other two were arrested during a raid at their apartment in Bangkok where the rest of the drugs were found.
■ Politics
PFP names candidates
The People First Party (PFP) yesterday unveiled its nomination list for legislators-at-large -- and Chairman James Soong(宋楚瑜), who had vowed to enter the legislature -- was not on it. The PFP, which estimates that it will win about seven at-large seats in December's legislative elections, nominated 16 candidates, mostly incumbents. Legislators Liu Yi-ju (劉憶如), Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), Nelson Ku (顧崇廉), Chung Jung-chi (鍾榮吉) and Lin Hui-kuan (林惠官), along with Tainan County Farmers' Association chairman Tsai Sheng-chia (蔡勝佳) and lawyer Lee Fu-tien (李復甸), are the seven expected to win a seat at the elections. Meanwhile, Li Ao (李敖), the maverick commentator who was the New Party's presidential candidate in the 2000 election, yesterday announced that he will run as an independent in the southern electoral district of Taipei City.
■ Politics
TSU names candidates, too
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday announced its legislator-at-large nomination list. Annie Lee (李安妮), whose name has been mentioned as a possible candidate, was not nominated. She is the daughter of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). Meanwhile, estimating that it would win at least five legislator-at-large seats, the TSU nominated national advisor to the president Chen Yung-hsing (陳永興), senior advisor to the National Security Council Lai Hsin-yuan (賴幸媛), TSU Legislator Huang Cheng-che (黃政哲), director general of the Taiwan Bar Association Kuo Lin-yung (郭林勇) and architect Chen Yin-ho (陳銀河). Additionally, the party's incumbent legislators-at-large, Wu Tong-sheng (吳東昇) and Cheng Cheng-lung (程振隆), voluntarily withdrew from the nomination process.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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