■ CRIME
Chiayi politician indicted
Chiayi County Council Speaker Yu Cheng-tah (余政達) was indicted yesterday on charges of corruption, and prosecutors called for a 22-year sentence. Chiayi prosecutors allege that Yu accepted at least NT$3 million (US$90,909) in bribes from businessmen in January when the county government was organizing a lantern festival. Yu, an independent, was indicted on charges of receiving bribes and extortion. Seven others, including two of Yu's aides and two Chiayi County Government officials, were indicted for corruption, while three businessmen were indicted on charges of bribery. Prosecutors said Yu's aides passed the bribes onto him.
■ WEATHER
Typhoon Krosa moves closer
Typhoon Krosa, which was upgraded from a tropical storm yesterday morning, is expected to affect Taiwan from Saturday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) reported yesterday. At 2pm yesterday, Krosa was located at approximately 1,100km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), moving northwesterly toward Taiwan at a speed of 10kph, meteorologists said. Packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph, Krosa -- the 15th storm reported in the West Pacific region this year -- had a radius of 200km as of 2pm, the meteorologists said, adding that the radius was expected to increase as the typhoon moves toward Taiwan. Krosa is expected to bring sporadic showers to northern and eastern Taiwan over the next two days, while cloudy skies are forecast for central and southern Taiwan, and temperatures are expected to be high for the western part of the island, the forecasters said.
■ SOCIETY
Scared husband gets divorce
A district court granted a divorce to a man because his wife, suspecting him of infidelity, had threatened to cut off his penis, a newspaper said yesterday. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), told the Taoyuan District Court that he and his wife, surnamed Huang (黃), had been married for 10 years, the United Daily News reported. Three years ago, Tseng became a truck driver, which required him to work occasional night shifts. The following year, Huang began to suspect Tseng of seeing other women. When Tseng slept, Huang would sometimes wake him up to interrogate him and threaten to cut off his penis. To show Tseng that she was serious, Huang placed a knife beside the bed and would sometimes sharpen it at night. After living in fear for two years, Tseng asked the court in May to grant him a divorce. The Taoyuan District Court granted the motion on Tuesday on the grounds that his wife's jealousy had made it impossible for them to continue living together.
■ PUBLISHING
Taiwan at Frankfurt fair
Some 64 local publishers are taking part in this year's Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, which opened yesterday. The Taiwanese are presenting 677 books in 10 categories to showcase the nation's publishing industry and seek copyright agreements. Taipei Book Fair Foundation chairman Lin Tzai-chuei (林載爵) said his group organized the national booth with the theme "Taiwan -- the Paradise of Chinese-language Publishing." The variety of books exhibited demonstrates that Taiwan is a favorable environment for writers and publishers, he said. A special section at the booth will display Chinese-language literary works banned in other countries, including the writings of exiled Chinese writers Gao Xingjian (高行健), Kang Zhengguo (康正果) and Jing Fuzi (京夫子), Lin said.
■ EVENTS
Double Ten fireworks at sea
A fireworks show organized by the central government to celebrate this year's Double Ten National Day will be held in the Taiwan Strait 400m off the coast of Dapeng Bay in Pingtung County, organizers said yesterday. They will be the first National Day fireworks display at sea, Pingtung County officials said, adding that the annual show on Oct. 10 would draw an estimated 100,000 visitors to the county. The fireworks show is scheduled to take place between 7pm and 8pm, the county government said, adding it has planned several other activities, including street art performances and a community fair. Last year's Double Ten National Day fireworks were held in Kaohsiung County.
■ CROSS-STRAIT TIES
DPP duo slam Beijing
Two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers on Tuesday blamed their failure to attend the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai on obstruction from the Chinese government. DPP Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) said that China should have allowed her to attend the ceremony, as she is a consultant for the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee. Legislator Lan Mei-ching (藍美津), who also acts in that capacity, was also denied a visa to attend the games. Lan said that sports should transcend political boundaries and that she had hoped to support Taiwanese athletes competing in the Special Olympics. Two other DPP legislators, Hsu Jung-shu (許榮淑) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮章), were granted visas to attend the opening ceremony.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
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