■ CRIME
Sex crime suspect deported
A fugitive from the US who allegedly sexually assaulted his patients while practicing dentistry in the US between 2003 and 2006 was deported yesterday after he was tracked down by local police last week, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said. Departing aboard a United Airlines flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport under the escort of US police officers, the man was expected to be taken back to the US to face trial, the bureau said in a statement. Shiu Tony Gong, a 40-year-old US citizen, was a dentist in Alameda, California. He allegedly molested and sodomized his patients after putting them under anesthesia between June 2003 and August 2006, the bureau said. Gong fled to Taiwan on Sept. 24, 2006, just before he was placed on a wanted list by a California court on Oct. 5, 2006, the bureau said. Gong had since taught English in a cram school under the name “Tony J” and had changed his address frequently, it said.
■POLITICS
Premier approves changes
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) yesterday approved the appointment of Taipei police chief Wang Cho-chun (王卓鈞) to replace Hou You-yi (侯友宜) as director-general of the National Police Agency (NPA). Hou was designated president of the Central Police University, replacing Shieh Ing-dan (謝銀黨). The personnel change was proposed by Minister of the Interior (MOI) Liao Liao-yi (廖了以) yesterday afternoon, Cabinet spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said. The changes will take effect as soon as the paperwork is completed, Shih said.
■EDUCATION
No to Chinese degrees
It might take two to three years before Taiwan starts recognizing degrees issued by Chinese educational institutions, Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) said yesterday. Fielding questions at the legislature, Cheng said that the ministry was leading an initiative to study the feasibility of Taiwan recognizing China’s academic credentials, in line with one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) campaign promises. “Since this is a matter that also involves Chinese authorities, a final decision is not expected to be made soon,” Cheng said. “It will be at least two to three years before the first batch of Chinese students will be allowed to come and study at local colleges and universities.” Also speaking during the session, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said the ministry must be careful and remain vigilant in considering such an important decision.
■FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Ma trips not confirmed
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it was not sure whether President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would attend the inauguration ceremonies of the new presidents of Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, two of the nation’s diplomatic allies. “So far, we have not received instructions on whether President Ma will head the congratulatory delegation, but the plan is to send the highest-level governmental delegation as both Paraguay and the Dominican Republic are very important allies,” Simon Ko (柯森耀), director-general of the ministry’s Central and South American Affairs division, said at a regular press briefing. The Dominican Republic will hold the inauguration ceremony for President Fernandez on Aug. 16, while Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo, who won his country’s April 20 election, is scheduled to be sworn in on Aug. 15.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
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