ENTERTAINMENT
Microsoft to offer TV service
Microsoft Corp yesterday announced its first TV service in Taiwan, as the world’s largest software company sought to break into the local TV market in cooperation with a cable operator. The on-demand service, which at present is only available to subscribers of cable operator Vee TIME in Taichung city and county, allows users to watch or access TV programs on various Internet-connected devices, including televisions with set-top boxes, computers and smartphones running the Windows operating system. “Cable subscribers have felt it inconvenient that they cannot organize favorite programs or pay by the number of channels they use. We have solved these problems by using Microsoft’s media platform Mediaroom,” Vee TIME chairman Richard Lai (賴富源) said. The service was expected to help increase the company’s number of subscribers from 780,000 this year to 1.5 million by next year, he said.
ENVIRONMENT
Government promotes green
Taiwan is working to foster an environment that will encourage private companies and local residents to develop green industries and combat global warming and resource degradation, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) said. The centerpiece of the government’s plan, Shen said, was to promote the birth of 50 low-carbon communities around Taiwan over the next two years, six low-carbon cities within five years and four low-carbon living regions with 10 years. To achieve these goals, the government will push companies and banks devoted to ecological conservation to open offices in “low-carbon special zones,” in which electric vehicles will serve as the main means of transport, Shen said, adding that the government also planned to make the agricultural sector more environmentally friendly and turn incinerators into biomass energy production centers.
HEALTH
New dengue case in north
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has announced a new case of dengue fever in Taipei County and put the north of the country on alert. A 72-year-old man from Wugu Township (五股) this week became the third confirmed case of indigenous dengue fever in Taipei County this year. CDC deputy director Lin Ting (林頂) said that many more cases might come to light. The elderly patient had not visited the south nor been abroad, but lives close to two patients who were infected with dengue fever after returning from a trip to Cambodia in August. “We have reason to believe that this is the result of a cluster infection and suspect that the elderly patient is not the only indigenous dengue patient living in Wugu,” Lin said. The Department of Health has set up a dengue screening station to provide free blood tests, with Lin warning people in the north not to lower their guard regarding possible infection.
CRIME
Former prosecutor sentenced
The Taiwan High Court’s Kaohsiung branch yesterday sentenced a former prosecutor to seven years, six months in prison on counts of corruption, rape, forced obscene acts and obstruction of personal freedom. Wu Chieh-jen (吳傑人), who worked out of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, was found guilty of committing the crimes against more than 10 women who were targets of his investigations between 1999 and 2006, the court said. According to the ruling, Wu used his influence as a prosecutor to coerce the women to have sex with him.
CULTURE
Taiwanese wins film award
Let’s Be Friends!, directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Wang Chun-chiang (王君強), won a Certificate of Honorable Mention at the 58th annual Columbus International Film and Video Festival in Columbus, Ohio, Taiwan’s liaison office in Chicago said yesterday. The documentary displays Taiwanese people’s passion and friendliness and the depth of Chinese culture preserved in Taiwan, the office said. It is hoped the film will encourage foreigners to study Chinese in Taiwan, the office added. Established in 1952 to encourage the use of film and video in all forms of education and communication, the event is one of the oldest film festivals in North America.
DIPLOMACY
Brothers held in Tanzania
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday night confirmed that two Taiwanese brothers surnamed Hsu (許) have been detained in Tanzania for over a year. The ministry said it has been monitoring the situation closely. Ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the older brother was the captain of an Oman-registered fishing boat, Tawariq 1. The elder brother, along with a crew of 30-plus, was detained by Tanzania on March 8 last year for fishing illegally and holding an expired fishing license, Chang said. The captain’s younger brother, who operated a boat based in Kenya, was also detained when he went to Tanzania to try and rescue his elder brother. Chang said the matter was brought to the ministry’s attention on Oct. 25 last year and the country’s representative offices in South Africa and Oman have been closely watching the situation and providing assistance. Chang said the ship owner has hired lawyers to oversee the legal process and that the Omani government was also involved as the boat was registered in that country.
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’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
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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