■ 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.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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