■ Crime
Macau man detained
Police have arrested a Macau man for bringing 1.3kg of heroin into Taiwan, an official said yesterday. Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents nabbed the suspect, surnamed Kang, when he flew into Kaohsiung on an EVA Airways flight from Macau on Monday, a bureau official told reporters. Kang, a 30-year-old factory worker, had taped the packets of heroin to the inside of his thighs. He said he was paid NT$200,000 (US$6,600) to deliver the heroin to a man in Taiwan. The maximum penalty for drug trafficking is the death sentence.
■ Diplomacy
Legislators go to Ottawa
A legislative delegation arrived in Ottawa on Monday for a visit to strengthen exchanges between the two countries. Cheng Kuo-chung (鄭國忠), chairman of Taiwan-Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group in the legislature, who led the delegation, said that their visit was conducted at the invitation of the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group and is aimed at boosting bilateral parliamentary exchanges. Cheng said friendships and exchanges between the people of Taiwan and Canada have been increasing substantially during the last few years, and during their stay in Canada the lawmakers will also thank Canadian congressman Jim Abbot, a member of the opposition Conservative Party, for putting forward the Taiwan Affairs Act for approval in the Canadian parliament.
■ Society
DPP politician apologizes
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chang Ching-fang (張清芳) yesterday apologized to Yang Yun-tai (楊雲黛), secretary to People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), for having made false allegations in November 2003 about the relationship between the two. Several months before last year's presidential election, in which Soong was the running mate of then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), Chang alleged that Yang was Soong's mistress. Chang based his allegation on a statement by former Taiwan Provincial Assembly member Wang Chao-chuan (王兆釧). Yang went to court to demand justice, seeking NT$10 million in compensation for damage to her reputation. The court ruled that Chang must pay NT$800,000 in damages and publish an apology to Yang in three major newspapers.
■ Immigration
Illegals find hospital work
An illegal Chinese immigrant has been caught serving as a caregiver at major hospitals in Taipei, police authorities said yesterday. The Chinese man told police that he smuggled himself into Taiwan a year ago. He first took odd jobs around Taiwan. In April, he began working as a caregiver at major Taipei hospitals, including Veterans General Hospital and Yangming Hospital, on a wage of NT$1,900 per day. He pays a 10 percent commission to his manpower broker. According to police, the 30-something man has been caring for several seriously ill patients for three months through the arrangement of a local manpower agency. Taipei police authorities informed a special task force under the National Police Administration (NPA) of the case. The "homeland security" task force was founded by the NPA earlier this year to track down illegal Chinese immigrants. The task force checked a list of temporary caregivers and said they discovered that the list included 10 illegal male Chinese immigrants, all around 30 years of age.
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
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
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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