■ CRIME
Police looking for rapists
Taipei police yesterday said they were investigating a case in which a female college student was raped by two men in a riverside park in Songshan District (松山) last month. Police said the victim was walking in a riverside park on Tayou Road (塔悠路) late at night when two men dragged her into a field and raped her. Police said the victim had gone home and cleaned herself up after the attack -- in the process perhaps removing some of the evidence -- before contacting police and going to a hospital. Police said they were searching surveillance footage for clues to the perpetrators' identities, but had no suspects yet. Police have increased patrols in the park at night, warning the public that rapists are often repeat offenders.
■ SOCIETY
Township debates name
A plan to change the name of Sanmin Township (三民) in Kaohsiung County has hit an obstacle as residents remain divided over what to name it. A Bunun-majority township, Sanmin was called Mayatsun during Japanese colonial rule and then Maya Township (瑪雅) after World War II. It was later renamed Sanmin after Sun Yat-sen's (孫逸仙) "Three principles of the people." Officials and some locals want to change the township's name back to Maya. Although the name change is welcomed by many residents, some local elders suggest using another name, arguing that the name "Maya" was an incorrect name given by the Japanese. Officials will visit Japan to research the name before making a final decision.
■ CRIME
Forensics experts show off
The Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday that 22 teams of forensics specialists from police departments nationwide would compete in a forensics contest on Saturday to determine the country's top forensic experts. The contest will take place at Taiwan Police College in Taipei. Competitors will be required to prove their prowess at extracting and matching fingerprints, photographing criminal evidence and analyzing blood stains, the bureau said. Criminal Investigation Bureau Director Huang Mao-sui (黃茂穗) said the country's forensics experts had made significant progress over the past decade in criminal scene investigation and laboratory forensics, adding that Saturday's first ever forensics contest would promote continued advances.
■ HEALTH
Bureau warns of dengue
A health official yesterday urged people traveling to the south during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday to take precautions against contracting dengue fever to avoid the spread of the mosquito-born disease. Chou Chih-hao (周志浩), deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control, said that as of last Wednesday the number of indigenous dengue fever cases had reached 451 since the beginning of summer, of which 349 case were reported in Tainan City, 61 in Kaohsiung City and 35 in Tainan County. Cases of dengue fever have also been reported in Kaohsiung, Changhua, Miaoli, Taoyuan and Ilan counties, Chou said, adding that those cases could all be traced back to Tainan or Kaohsiung cities. For this reason, he advised those traveling to the south to avoid leaving water standing around the house, as this provides mosquitos with a breeding ground. Travelers should avoid mosquitos as much as possible, Chou said.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
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