■ CRIME
Police smash extortion ring
Police have nabbed the alleged ringleader of a group of Philippine officials and naval officers who have been extorting money from seized Taiwanese fishing trawlers, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) reported yesterday. Hsu Chih-yi (許志宜), a Taiwanese, was arrested upon arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Thursday. In April last year, several tuna boats were intercepted by two Philippine warships in the waters between Taiwan and the Philippines. Their captains were taken into custody and accused of trespassing in Philippine waters. The captains paid thousands of dollars to have their vessels released. Through telephone taps, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation learned that Hsu and several Philippine officials and navy officers had masterminded the seizure of the ships. Hsu, who lives in southern Taiwan, used his connections to a Philippine naval officer to "assist" the captains by telling them how to deposit cash to an account in the Philippines to secure the release of their boats.
■ TRANSPORTATION
THSRC adds more trains
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) increased the number of southbound and northbound daily train runs yesterday from 31 to 37. Officials also said that ticket sales would be extended by a half-hour, until 10:30pm, to accommodate passengers on the last train of the day, while ticket vending machines at the Taipei station would remain open until 11pm. This is the third increase in train runs in less than four months.
■ EDUCATION
System to add another year
Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) said yesterday that the ministry was planning to extend the nine-year compulsory education system by one year to include kindergarten. Speaking during a visit to Tung Ho Elementary School, Tu said that with myriad issues needing to be tackled before the compulsory education system is formally extended, the ministry has decided that the first step will be to offer subsidies to low-income families to help them cover the costs of sending their children to kindergarten. Providing a year of free kindergarten is expected to cost the government around NT$25 billion (US$762 million) per year, Tu said. He said more qualified teachers will have to be recruited and the quality of private kindergartens upgraded as part of the ministry's reform plans. The subsidy program may be implemented as early as this September, he said.
■ SCIENCE
Cloned pigs give birth
Three female cloned pigs raised at the Animal Technology Institute Taiwan (ATIT) in Miaoli have given birth to 19 piglets in recent months, indicating a breakthrough in cloning technology, institute researchers reported on Thursday. The researchers cloned five "spotty mini pigs" from a female Lanyu small-ear pig last year, they said. Three of the five became pregnant early this year through natural insemination and one gave birth to six piglets in late May, while the others delivered six and seven youngsters earlier this month. Six of the piglets died because of insufficient milk, but the rest are doing well. The researchers said ATIT produced its first generation of cloned pigs in 2002, although those pigs could not reproduce. The fact that some of the second-generation clones have given birth to piglets with no genetic abnormalities was evidence of the improvement in the institute's cloning technology, the researchers said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
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