■ EDUCATION
Wu defends college plan
Minister of Education Wu Ching-chi (吳清基) yesterday defended a plan to provide fifth-year courses for university graduates, saying it would boost their employability and help meet the demands of the business and industrial sectors. Wu dismissed criticism that the program was designed to artificially lower the unemployment rate, which hit 5.3 percent last month and is expected to rise in the following months as new graduates flood the job market. He said the program is a long-term and far-sighted policy devised to meet the needs of the private sector. The ministry floated a “four-plus-one” initiative earlier this week that would allow universities to open one-year intensive courses for bachelor’s degree holders to gain technical knowledge that would enhance their chances of finding a job after graduation, especially in high-tech companies.
■ DEFENSE
Rescue to be MND’s remit
A bill aimed at officially listing disaster prevention and rescue as part of the military’s work cleared the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday. However, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) expressed concern that the change could undermine the power of the president as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, as it would allow the premier to command the troops in disaster prevention and rescue operations. Vice Minister of National Defense Chao Shih-chang (趙世璋) said the scope of the premier’s authority in such situations would be clearly defined to ensure that it would not infringe on the president’s power. Chao added that disaster prevention and rescue had become part of the military’s core mission, alongside its duty to defend the country from foreign invasion. The proposed amendment to the National Defense Act (國防法) still has to be reviewed by the legislature.
■ FESTIVALS
Public invited to Santacruzan
The Taipei City Government invites the public to join the Filipino community in celebrating Santacruzan on Sunday. The annual festival, co-organized by Taipei City’s Department of Labor Affairs and St Christopher’s Church, will take place in front of the church and along Zhongshan N Road from 1:30pm to 4pm. Santacruzan is a commemoration of the quest in 324 by Queen Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, the Roman emperor credited with promoting Christianity in the West, to find the cross on which Christ was crucified. The department organized the festival for the Filipino community to celebrate the holiday away from home, while hoping to allow residents in Taipei to have a better understanding of Philippine culture.
■ CRIME
Police probing officer’s death
Police are investigating a suicide involving an officer in Lujhou (蘆洲), Taipei County, and will release the results in a few days, Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said yesterday. The 47-year-old victim, identified by his surname Chuang (莊), reportedly shot himself to death outside a police station on Wednesday night. Jiang said Chuang was having a discussion with the chief of the police station when he took out his gun and attempted to kill himself. The station chief was shot while trying to stop Chuang. When he went into the station to seek help, Chuang again fired his gun and killed himself, Jiang said. He said the ministry had ordered an investigation into reports that Chuang was in debt, a drug abuser and did not get along with his family.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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