■ LEGAL SYSTEM
Statute change proposed
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Jan-daw (余政道) yesterday proposed an amendment to the Medals Statute (勳章條例) in a bid to abolish an honorary medal named after dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). Among the medals the government usually issues, the Chungcheng Medal (中正勳章) was created in 1979, four years after Chiang's death, Yu said. The medal is awarded to those who "have special achievements in carrying out the Three Principles of the People: making a special contribution to opposing the Chinese Communist Party and making outstanding contributions to reviving Chinese culture or making a praiseworthy achievement in practicing democracy and the constitution." "The medal should be abolished," Yu said, adding that his proposal is part of transitional justice.
■ COMMUNICATIONS
NCC okays Sparq request
The regulating body for communications, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday it had approved an application from Sparq (速博) to acquire 60,000 phone numbers for its online phone service. Those who subscribe to the service will receive an 11-digit number that begins with 070. Instead of using a computer, users can dial their 070 number from a cellphone. The approval will allow the company to start negotiations on issues related to cross-network connections with other telecom companies. It also made Sparq the first telecom company to obtain online phone numbers from the commission. The approval did not require the company to set a timeline for launching the service. "It [the timeline] will be solely determined through the company's negotiations with others," NCC spokesperson Howard Shyr (石世豪) said.
■ SOCIETY
Corpse kept at home
Two elementary school students slept with their grandfather's corpse for one week after the man died, a newspaper said yesterday. The two boys lived in Taiping (太平市), Taichung County, with their grandfather and uncle, the Apple Daily reported. On Wednesday last week, their grandfather died of an illness. Their uncle had no money to bury the corpse, the paper said. The uncle warned his two nephews not to tell others. The uncle was then hospitalized, leaving his nephews home alone. On Tuesday, a teacher noticed the boys were acting strangely and visited their home. She found the corpse and called the police. The city government agreed to find foster homes for the boys and the neighborhood committee paid for a funeral.
■ CRIME
Students in knife attack
Two unidentified assailants armed with knives attacked two male students on the campus of George Vocational High School of Taipei on Keelung Road late yesterday afternoon, the school's principal said. Firefighters and other emergency response personnel were called to the school after the two students were stabbed; they were rushed to a hospital as the assailants escaped. School principal Yu Li-liang (俞禮亮) said that details were sketchy and there were few witnesses at the scene. The attack happened very quickly after the two assailants entered the campus, he said, adding that authorities had yet to confirm their identities or motive. Yu also said that his school's campus was sprawling and open and therefore hard to defend against such attacks.
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