A Chinese tourist who was arrested on Monday for entering a military facility and taking pictures was released on his own recognizance late on Tuesday night.
Prosecutor Tseng Chun-tseh (曾俊哲) ordered the man’s release and did not ban him from leaving Taiwan. Tseng took him to the restricted area of the military compound in Taipei City where he was found the previous day, to reconstruct his movements.
The man, identified as Ma Zhongfei (馬中飛), was handed over on Tuesday to the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office for investigation on suspicion of illegally intruding into a military area, which carries a punishment of up to one-year’s imprisonment, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday slammed the prosecutor’s decision to release Ma without imposing a travel ban.
“Ma detected military equipment and achieved his goal, but Taiwan’s judiciary neglected its duty to protect the country,” DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) said.
Yu said Ma was caught taking photos of military equipment installed at a computer warfare command center that is part of a military recruitment complex on Keelung Road in downtown Taipei. The recruitment center is open to the general public, but the computer warfare command area is a restricted facility.
Military officers immediately detained Ma after discovering that he had entered a restricted military facility, Yu said.
An initial investigation found that Ma entered Taiwan a few days ago as part of a tourist group from China. Ma is the chairman of a Chinese technology company, which does not appear to have an English name. Its Chinese name can be loosely translated as Guangdong Sikeda Technologies Co Ltd (廣東思科達信息技術有限公司).
Meanwhile, dpp legislator chiu yi-ying (邱議瑩) asked how the prosecutors would summon ma for further questions or bring him to court if he could leave taiwan anytime.
chinese nationalist party (kmt) caucus secretary-general yang chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said: “we respect the judiciary’s decision [to release him]. after all, the judiciary released him after conducting a thorough investigation.”
when asked for comments yesterday, yang described the incident as a “single case,” adding that this should not influence other visits by chinese tourists to taiwan.
but she said the caucus would urge the tourism bureau to have tour guides clearly inform tourists of regulations in taiwan before they arrive.
as part of the investigation, tseng escorted ma on tuesday morning to retrace his movements in taipei.
ma said that he entered the military recruitment center as he was on keelung road on his way to xindian in taipei county, where he planned to pay his respects to a deceased friend, tseng said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND RICH CHANG
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS