■ CULTURE
Festival to start in Taitung
The eighth festival of Austronesian Cultures will commence on Saturday in Taitung County with the theme of "strength and beauty." Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) said this year's event would include Aboriginal dance and folk song performances in addition to an exhibition of twelve 3.5m wood carvings by 12 Aboriginal artists and a "Taiwan beer night" on the last night. Festival goers will also be entertained by performers from the Solomon Islands, Palau, Korea and Okinawa, Kuang said. The National Museum of Prehistory will host indoor activities, while outdoor activities will be held at Taitung Forest Park, she said.
■ SOCIETY
Hotline up for ex-inmates
The Taiwan After-care Association has set up a telephone line providing counseling services for prison inmates released under a commutation statute that will go into effect tomorrow. Released inmates can dial 0800-788595 for counseling, association Chairman Yen Ta-ho (顏大和) said. A total of 10,969 inmates will be released under the commutation program, which was implemented to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 228 Incident and the 20th anniversary of the end of 38 years of martial law. The association has also taken other measures to help released inmates return to normal life and to prevent recidivism, Yen said. Staff of the association will be deployed in prisons around the country tomorrow to offer rehabilitation information about returning to school, employment opportunities and medical treatment to the inmates prior to their release.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
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