■ POLITICS
Losheng eviction to begin
More than 50 Losheng Sanatorium preservationists gathered in front of the Department of Health (DOH) building yesterday, protesting the eviction of Losheng residents and demanding that Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) listen to their pleas. “No forced eviction, we want dialogue!” shouted the members of the Youth Alliance for Losheng and Losheng Self-help Organization. “[Today] they will force [the residents] out. Why will no one listen to our pleas?” said alliance member Chang Hsin-wen (張馨文). The preservationists’ fight against what they consider human rights violations and the destruction of historic buildings has continued for four years.
■ DIPLOMACY
Kao defers on Dalai Lama
A visit to Taiwan by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, would be politically sensitive, and would be left to the country’s security agencies to decide, said Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission Chairman Kao Su-po (高思博). Kao said the commission would welcome his visit, but that security authorities would make an assessment before arriving at a decision. Kao made the remarks after the Dalai Lama, in an interview with the Hong Kong-based weekly Yazhou Zhoukan, said he would like to visit Taiwan again if the chance arises to forge friendly relations with Chinese brothers and sisters and to have exchanges with Buddhist followers. “The commission attaches great importance to the Dalai Lama’s possible visit, given his high profile in the international community,” Kao said. But in view of China’s concerns wherever he goes, “[choosing] the appropriate time for the visit and arranging his meetings with political heavyweights in Taiwan would be an issue that requires careful thought,” Kao said.
■ POLITICS
Water officials impeached
The Control Yuan yesterday impeached three officials and the former head of the Third River Management Office of the Water Resources Agency Hsu Che-yen (?? on charges of corruption. Prosecutors in Taichung sought a 20-year prison term for Hsu and a 10-year term for Yeh Yi-kuang (葉奕匡), Lin Jong-shao (林榮紹) and Chao Shih-jey (周世杰) for corruption in July, saying that they accepted favors dozens of times from businesspeople who were contracted for dredging constructions on the Dajia River (大甲溪). Control Yuan members Chien Lin Hui-chun (錢林慧君) and Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) said in the impeachment statement that they found the agency negligent in supervising its officials when they were away on business trips.
■ TRAVEL
MOFA warns travelers
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) urged Taiwanese travelers yesterday to take necessary precautions to avoid becoming embroiled in drug-trafficking, a serious crime in many popular Southeast Asian destinations. Victor Yu (于德勝), director-general of MOFA’s East Asian and Pacific Affairs division, issued the warning at a press conference after a report from the Indonesian government said 23 individuals — 13 of them Taiwanese nationals — were caught with drugs at the country’s gateways over the past eight months. Some of the Taiwanese nationals were severely punished, Yu said, while others are still in the trial process. More than 110 Taiwanese nationals are still serving sentences for drug-trafficking and other drug-related crimes in Thailand, Yu said. To avoid being implicated in a drug-trafficking case, Yu said travelers should not carry packages for strangers.
■ TOURISM
Amway workers to take tour
Some 13,000 Amway China employees are set to visit Taiwan on a cruise next March, which will give a boost to the nation’s tourism industry, Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said yesterday. In a report by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), Mao said the visit would be handled as a special case and not be subject to the quota of 3,000 Chinese tourists to Taiwan per day. Mao said the Amway China employees will be making the tour as part of the company’s annual bonus trip and to take part in an overseas training seminar in Taiwan. The employees will visit in several groups on cruise liners from Shanghai to Keelung Harbor and Taichung Harbor, he said. Although regulations limit travel from China to residents of 13 specified provinces, the Amway China employees would come from all over the country, Mao said.
■ HEALTH
Anti-cancer element found
A series of experiments has recently led to the discovery of an alkaloid-based compound that can efficiently kill various kinds of cancer cells and could be used in cancer drugs after further testing, the team that made the discovery said. The compound “antofine” is made from alkaloids extracted from herbs such as cryptocarya chinensis and ficus septica, said Wu Tian-shung (吳天賞), the project’s leader and a chemistry professor at the National Cheng Kung University. Alkaloids — nitrogen-based chemical compounds — can be naturally produced by numerous organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants and animals. In laboratory testing, Wu said, the antofine proves effective in killing tumorous cells of lung cancer, breast cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and multi-resistance nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
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