■ 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.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
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