■ CRIME
He Yi-hang posts bail
TV entertainer He Yi-hang (賀一航) was released on NT$60,000 bail yesterday, after he admitted using and possessing drugs and selling them to prostitutes. He was arrested by Taoyuan police at his Taipei residence on Wednesday. Police discovered amphetamines and ketamine in his house. He told prosecutors he bought the drugs from a “heavyweight in the entertainment business.” Prosecutors and police are trying to determine whether more entertainers are involved in the case, either as dealers or clients, Taoyuan Prosecutor Yeh Yi-fa (葉益發) said. He’s involvement in the drug business was discovered when Taoyuan prosecutors and police were investigating the “Tsai-shen,” a major brothel in northern Taiwan. Police established that He was close to Yeh Ching-feng (葉青峰) and Hsu Lung-hsien (許龍仙), managers at the brothel. Yeh and Hsu were detained after prosecutors discovered they were engaged in loan sharking and allegedly “controlled” their prostitutes by feeding them drugs. Kuo was also released on NT$60,000 bail.
■ SOCIETY
Improve childcare: NGOs
Several non-governmental organizations said at a press conference yesterday that the nation’s low birth rate has much to do with its lack of a childcare system. In comparison to some Northern European countries where birth rates have been on the rise because of well-established childcare systems, Taiwan’s birth rate has dropped 37 percent in the last 10 years, said Liu Yu Hsiu (劉毓秀), head of the Coalition for Childcare Policy. Young couples have stopped wanting children, she said, linking the issue to the cost of daycare centers, which she described as profitable businesses that charge fees unaffordable for most parents. The government should draw up an affordable childcare plan to meet the needs of working class families and set up an autonomous committee to monitor childcare, she said.
■ HUMAN RIGHTS
Anti-trafficking event held
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Kaohsiung branch office and the Kaohsiung City Government hosted a press event yesterday to highlight the role that local governments and organizations play in fighting human trafficking. AIT Kaohsiung branch chief Chris Castro said he hoped that people around the world could work together to stop human trafficking wherever it occurs and to punish perpetrators. He said the AIT held the event in Kaohsiung because it was a city that has played a key role in defending democracy in Taiwan’s history. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said the city government respects the human rights of the more than 20,000 foreign workers in the city, adding that there was a 24-hour hotline service available if any problems arise.
■ ATHLETICS
Summer marathon to be held
For the first time ever, a marathon will be held at Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山) in suburban Taipei, tomorrow. About 5,000 runners, including 32 foreign participants, will compete in the Yangmingshan Summer Marathon on a scenic 42km route up and down hills, secretary-general of the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association Sunny Chen (陳華恒) said. The Yangmingshan marathon is the second in a series of four Ministry of the Interior-sponsored seasonal international marathons held in the country’s major national parks this year in a bid to attract more people to the country to experience its natural beauty.
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
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
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
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