Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said yesterday she did not have any information on whether one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives, former legislator Wu Tse-yuan (伍澤元), had died in China, where he fled years ago after being convicted of corruption.
Responding to a local newspaper report on Wu’s death, Wang said the ministry would seek to obtain further information on the fugitive’s whereabouts in China and his alleged death.
“We would welcome any information about Wu,” she said.
DIABETES
Meanwhile, Wu’s younger brother, Wu Chin-lin (伍錦霖), a former deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and currently the vice president of the Examination Yuan, said that he hoped the reports that his brother had died of diabetic complications somewhere in China were “untrue.”
Wu Chin-lin said that he had not remained in contact with his elder brother since he fled and that he only received news of him through the former legislator’s children.
He said Wu Tse-yuan’s children had told him several days ago that their father was in critical condition.
FAMILY
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday that Wu Tse-yuan, one of the country’s 10 most-wanted fugitives who was convicted of taking a bribe related to the construction of the Sipientou wastewater processing plant nearly a decade ago, had died of diabetic complications in China on Monday.
“If the news of his passing away is true, I appeal to the public to show respect to the wishes of Wu Tse-yuan’s family to keep the death low profile,” Wu Chin-lin said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of