■ JUDICIARY
Court finds Hu not guilty
The Taipei District Court yesterday found political commentator Hu Chung-hsin (胡忠信) not guilty in a libel lawsuit filed by President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) daughter Chen Hsin-yu (陳幸妤) in 2005. Chen Hsin-yu filed the suit against Hu after the commentator alleged during a TV talk show in October 2005 that she had used a professional meeting in the US as a pretext to travel there to open a bank account to help her father conceal his assets. The court said that while Hu's allegations were not completely factual, he had nevertheless given his sources. The court ruling also said that as Hu's comments were on a public matter, he had not committed libel.
■ SOCIETY
Taipei pushes moon cake
The Taipei City Government yesterday urged residents and businesses to support groups for the disabled by purchasing moon cakes made by several shelters for disabled people. Showcasing various moon cakes and other snacks -- including egg rolls and pineapple cakes -- at Taipei City Hall yesterday, nine civic groups joined forces to promote the products and encourage disabled people. Addressing the event, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said working at the shelters helped give disabled people a sense of confidence and a sense of accomplishment. "Supporting their products helps take care of disabled people's finances and ease the burden on their families," Hau said. The products can be purchased at shelters sponsored by the Children Are Us Foundation, the Taipei City Disabled Group Association, the Taipei Parents Association of Autism, and the Renai and Songteh branches of the Taipei City Hospital.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
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