■ CRIME
Banned pesticides found
Authorities have uncovered a total of 80 tonnes of banned or substandard pesticides smuggled from China on sale around Taiwan, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday. The pesticides, which were being sold at 20 pesticide shops nationwide, include long-banned fentin acetate, a lethal weapon against crop-depleting apple snails, as well as 10 other categories of counterfeit pesticides such as cyromazine, acetamiprid and bismerthiazol, officials from the council’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said.
■ DIPLOMACY
New envoys appointed
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday announced the appointment of several new ambassadors to the nation’s diplomatic allies in the South Pacific, as well as representatives to two European countries. Benjamin Ho (何登煌), now deputy head of Taiwan’s representative office in Singapore, will become an ambassador to Kiribati, while Jason Wan (萬家興), currently serving in Canada, will be reassigned to lead the embassy in the Pacific island nation of Nauru. T.S. Cheng (鄭天授) and Abraham Chu (朱文祥) will head the nation’s representative offices in Finland and Sweden, the ministry said. Foreign Minister Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) expressed hope that, following President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) call to prioritize economic issues in diplomacy, the two new delegates to the Scandinavian countries could help Taiwanese companies seek business opportunities there.
■ IMMIGRATION
Airport system crashes again
The immigration computer system at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport experienced another breakdown yesterday morning, lasting 20 minutes. Added to the two more serious breakdowns suffered last month, yesterday’s incident marked the third system breakdown this year. National Immigration Agency Deputy Director-General Huang Pi-hsia (黃碧霞) said that yesterday’s incident happened because of a system database capacity shortage when the agency was converting files in the database. No flight delays were caused as a result of the incident and no one banned from leaving or entering the country passed immigration during the 20-minute stoppage.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
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