■ Crime
Sex party bust nets drugs
Taipei police busted 27 men at a sex party on Saturday, finding a variety of drugs. Late Saturday night, the Taipei Police Headquarters' Chungshan Precinct broke into an apartment on Chienkuo North Road and forcibly halted the sex and drug party. The naked arrestees asked the police to show a search warrant and accused the officers of trampling their human rights, as they noted the media were waiting outside the apartment. The police officers said they found drugs including ecstasy and the latest 5Meo-peace from Japan. Twenty-seven men were sent to the police station for interrogation and examination. Two men were found to be HIV-positive. They said condoms were used during sexual intercourse. Police officials said that "others had not seemed to concern themselves with the news of HIV-positive party partners."
■ Politics
Chirac's words `regretful'
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets that French President Jacques Chirac felt it necessary to criticize Taiwan for what he called moves to upset the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, ministry spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶隆) said yesterday. Referring to the warning made by Chirac to Taiwan's leadership in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), in Beijing the day before, Lu said that it is Taiwan's desire and the direction of its policies to settle peacefully cross-Taiwan Strait issues. It is regrettable that Chirac made the comment regarding Taiwan in an "unacceptable manner," particularly when President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) expressed goodwill toward Beijing in his National Day address, Lu noted.
■ Diplomacy
Embassies host parties
Embassies and representative offices abroad held a variety of activities on Saturday to celebrate Double Ten National Day, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials. The embassy in the Dominican Republic organized a charity activity at a stadium because the Caribbean country is still suffering from damage caused by a recent hurricane. The embassy staff made pizzas and hot dogs for 625 orphans gathered at the stadium, where Dominican Republic First Lady Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez was in attendance. Donations of US$62,267 were collected from Taiwanese expatriates and the government. Taiwanese expatriates living around the world, including southern California, New Jersey, Texas, Spain and Thailand also held a series of activities to celebrate the nation's birthday.
■ Diplomacy
Chen, Lu meet VIP guests
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) received foreign dignitaries yesterday at the Presidential Office for the Double Ten National Day celebrations. Chen and Lu expressed their gratitude to those who had arrived from overseas, including Swaziland Prime Minister Absalom Dlamini, Chad Minister of Foreign Affairs Nagoum Yamassoum, Malawi National Assembly Speaker Rodwell Munyenyembe and Palau Grand Judge Arthur Ngiraklsong. Also present were American Institute in Taiwan Director Douglas Paal, Japanese Interchange Association in Taipei Director Masaji Takahashi, and Burkina Faso Ambassador Jacques Sawadogo. Chen and Lu also received legislative delegations from Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, the US, Japan, South Korea, Iceland, Latvia, Poland and Russia, as well as 34 journalists from around the world.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
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