■ Crime
Trio arrested carrying drugs
Three Taiwanese face possible death sentences after they were arrested at Malaysia's main airport for allegedly trying to smuggle the illegal drug ketamine to Taiwan, a news report said yesterday. Malaysian security officials found 4.5kg of the synthetic party drug, sometimes known as "Special K," in small bags strapped to the bodies of two Taiwanese women and a Taiwanese man at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday, the national news agency Bernama reported. If convicted they face the mandatory death penalty for drug smuggling. Bernama did not give a reason for reporting the arrest several days later. The drugs with a street value of more than 600,000 ringgit (US$160,000) were smuggled in from India by traffickers using Malaysia as a transit point, Bernama cited national anti-narcotics chief Mohammed Najib Abdul Aziz as saying.
■ Culture
Pop group shuns politics
Pop music band 5566 said yesterday the group will not perform at a concert to celebrate national day next week, but denied reports that the four young singers were pandering to China. Newspapers reported on Monday that the band has pulled out due to fears of being branded as supporters of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Sun Teh-rong (孫德榮), the agent for 5566, confirmed that the band will not appear at Monday's national day concert but said politics had nothing to do with the decision. "As entertainers, their job is to bring happiness to audiences, and they don't have a political stance," Sun told ETTV Cable News, adding that the singers' busy schedule will take them to Hong Kong on Monday. Many Taiwanese entertainers are cautious about performing at official functions due to fears of a backlash in China, where many are popular.
■ Politics
Li Ao mulls mayoral bid
Independent Legislator Li Ao (李敖) yesterday said he is considering running in next year's Taipei City mayoral election, just to show his personal dissatisfaction with incumbent Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Because he feels that Ma and the KMT might eventually side with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and endorse the arms procurement plan, Li said that he cannot remain idle and let Ma and the KMT think that they can "easily manipulate and determine our fate." Li lauded Huang Ta-chou (黃大洲) as the city's best mayor ever, saying that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had failed to make any contribution during his term as Taipei mayor, and Ma had done nothing at all. He, however, complimented Ma as a "good-looking Chen," adding that Ma's good looks could "compensate for his incompetence."
■ Defense
Raytheon to service missiles
Raytheon Co will provide full service support for the standard missile 1 (SM-1) program for US allies, which includes Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. SM-1 is an anti-air weapon. Taiwan's Chengkung class frigates -- a modified version of US Perry class frigates -- are equipped with the weapon. The Pentagon said the Arizona-based company has been awarded a US$36,862,686 firm-fixed-price modification under a previously awarded contract to exercise an option to provide full-service support requirements in support of the SM-1 program. Of this Taiwan will account for 44 percent, or around US$16.22 million of the amount.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods