■ 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.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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