■ AVIATION
Man forgets about girlfriend
A woman was too sleepy to realize that she was left behind in an empty cabin of a Northwest Airlines aircraft until her absent-minded boyfriend alerted authorities 30 minutes later, local news media reported yesterday. The unidentified woman boarded the Northwest Airlines flight along with her boyfriend to return to Taiwan from Osaka last week and fell asleep in the back-row seats of the plane, cable news network TVBS reported. The woman slept through the cabin broadcasts announcing the plane's arrival and the departure of the passengers and crew. Thirty minutes after leaving the plane, her boyfriend realized that his companion was missing, TVBS said. He sought help from ground service crew and found her on the plane, still sound asleep, TVBS said. TVBS said the airline was unhappy that the air steward had failed to check every row of seats and said it would punish him.
■ DIPLOMACY
Italian envoy to boost ties
The designated representative of the Italian Economic, Trade and Cultural Promotion Office in Taiwan, Mario Palma, said yesterday he would devote himself to boosting exchanges between Italy and Taiwan in the fields of trade, economy and culture after he assumes his post next month. Palma made the remarks in an interview in Rome, during which he recognized the contributions of the current Italian representative to Taiwan, Maria Assunta Accili Sabbatini, in establishing a solid foundation for the further development of bilateral ties. Accili assumed the post in September 2003. Palma said that although ties between Italy and Taiwan have improved in recent years, there were still things that needed to be done in "many fields" to further boost relations. Palma is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan next Saturday.
■ CULTURE
Ang Lee leaves for Tokyo
Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (李安) left for Tokyo yesterday after a brief visit to Taiwan to promote his latest film Lust, Caution (色,戒) which won the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival. "My heart is here in Taiwan," the New York-based director said at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Asked about her first visit to Taiwan, Chinese actress Tang Wei (湯唯), who plays the leading role in the film, said she liked Taiwan and hoped to come again. Lee and Tang, along with Wang Lee-hom (王力宏), a Chinese-American pop singer who also has a starring role, arrived in Taipei on Sunday to attend the premiere of Lust, Caution, a spy thriller adapted from a short story by Chinese writer Eileen Chang (張愛玲).
■ CRIME
Former councilor sentenced
Former People First Party Taipei City councilor Mike Wang (王育誠) was yesterday sentenced to one year in prison for attacking and harassing his ex-wife. The Taipei District Court reduced the sentence to six months in accordance with a sentence commutation statute, and his sentence could be commuted to a fine, the court said. Wang told reporters yesterday that he would appeal to the Taiwan High Court. The district court found Wang in violation of the Family Violence Prevention Act (家庭暴力防治法). The court said in its verdict that Wang on Jan. 28 violated a protection order prohibiting him from harassing his then wife. Wang attacked both the woman and her father, the court found.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai