CRIME
Policeman killed in Tainan
A Greater Tainan police officer died in the line of duty yesterday morning while apprehending a wanted drug smuggler. Four policemen with a search warrant were about to search the apartment of suspected drug smuggler Lee Kuo-lin (李國麟) when Lee shot at the officers through the door after they had identified themselves. First Investigation Team Captain Lin Hung-hsing (林宏星) was shot in the chest and died in an emergency room. Lee, though shot twice, was taken alive. Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) visited Lin’s family after the arrest and pledged that the city government would work closely with the family and help with the funeral. Greater Tainan Police Department Chief Chen Tzu-jing (陳子敬) said it was sad to lose an officer in the line of duty, adding that the police department would reinforce its training. The officers were not wearing bullet-proof vests when they visited Lee’s residence to avoid alerting the suspect and were shot at while they were putting on their gear.
ENTERTAINMENT
Chang Mei-yao dies aged 71
Chang Mei-yao (張美瑤), an iconic Taiwanese actress adored as “The Forever Formosa Lady,” died in Taipei on April 1 at the age of 71, her family said in a statement on Wednesday. Chang’s two daughters issued the statement via the Public Television Service after holding a funeral for their mother earlier in the day. The statement did not mention the cause of Chang’s death. A native of Nantou County, Chang became one of the few Taiwanese actresses in the movie industry in the 1950s. Chang and actor Ko Chun-hsiung (柯俊雄) fell in love after they co-starred in a film in 1967. Chang suspended her acting career after their marriage. The couple divorced in 2004. In 2008, the organizing committee of the Golden Horse Film Awards presented a special award to Chang in recognition of her lifelong dedication to the Mandarin film industry.
DIPLOMACY
Japan office gets new head
Sumio Tarui, a former Japanese ambassador in charge of Okinawan affairs, was named as his country’s top representative to Taiwan earlier this week and will take office on April 24 as chief of the Taipei office of the Interchange Association, Japan, the association said in a statement. The association handles exchanges with Taiwan in the absence of official ties between the two countries. Tarui, 64, joined Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1971 and has since served as head of the ministry’s China Division, an envoy at Japan’s embassy in China, and permanent representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Meanwhile, Tadashi Imai, who has been serving as Japan’s representative to Taiwan since January 2010, has been appointed as the new president of the Interchange Association, the press release said.
CHARITY
Group asks for donations
To help domestic violence victims staying in shelters run by the Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH) faced with rising grocery bills, a women’s fitness center is calling for the donation of 20,000kg of food and grocery items, as well as NT$500,000 (US$17,000) in cash. The foundation’s executive director Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) said the non-governmental organization serves over 20,000 women who are abuse victims or are pregnant out of wedlock. For details, contact the GOH hotline on (02) 8911-8595 or visit the Curves Web site at www.curves.com.tw.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
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