Print

Mail

wiki links

Taiwan News Quick Take

■ DIPLOMACY

US supports Taiwan: AIT

The US will continue to support Taiwan in its quest for international space and dignity, American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young quoted US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as saying during a reception yesterday to celebrate US Independence Day today. Young lauded Taiwan’s democratic development and said the coming year should see a strengthening of economic cooperation between Taiwan and the US, including productive Trade and Investment Framework Agreement talks in Taipei. He said Washington will continue to place high importance on providing Taipei “the confidence and means necessary to guarantee its own security.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊), Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) and National Security Council Security-General Su Chi (蘇起) attended the reception.



■TRANSPORTATION

TRTC marks gondola record

The Maokong Gondola is celebrating a new ridership record of 5 million today at the gondola’s Taipei Zoo station with a music concert at 6pm. The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said it would give out 6,000 mugs to passengers at 9am at the Taipei Zoo station. It will also issue souvenir Easy Cards at that station, MRT Taipei Main Station and MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. The gondola system was launched last July, and has become one of the most popular attractions in the city. The 4km-long cable car system, which cost more than NT$1.3 billion (US$39.28 million), is the only one in the country that travels in a mountainous region along its entire route.



■CRIME

Toy plane crash sparks fire

A Taipei County man was arrested yesterday after his remote controlled model plane crashed into a high rise residential building in Sindian (新店) around 8am, causing a fire and six injuries, police said. The plane hit the 28th floor of the building, forcing the evacuation of 79 people. The fire was contained in 35 minutes, the local fire department said. Six people who sustained smoke inhalation injuries were taken to local hospitals and are now reportedly in stable condition. The suspect, surnamed Hsieh, was reportedly controlling the airplane from a riverside park about 500m away from the building. He was arrested for endangering the public.



■CRIME

Taiwanese convict returning

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday that Panama is repatriating a Taiwanese freighter captain convicted of manslaughter who was imprisoned in that country. Duanmu Wei-kai (端木惟鍇) is expected to return to Taiwan today. Duanmu was captain of the Panama-registered vessel HV Well Pescadores bound for Houston, Texas, when he abandoned two Dominican men at sea in 1993. He was tried and sentenced to 19 years and three months in 1995. The ministry said it had been negotiating with Panama for five years to secure his repatriation. Panama agreed to repatriate Duanmu on humanitarian concerns, the ministry said.



■CRIME

Corpse story confirmed

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) confirmed yesterday that police in Mauritius found two frozen corpses on a Taiwanese fishing boat on Sunday. Chen said the boat belonged to its Taiwanese captain and that one of the dead sailors was Chinese and the other Indonesian. He did not identify the captain, who is being detained along with three Taiwanese crewmembers by Mauritian police.

This story has been viewed 1330 times.