CRIME
NZ man arrested for gun
A New Zealand man was taken to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday after police found a handgun in his luggage. The man, a car racer identified as Peter Scharmach, arrived in Taiwan from Amsterdam earlier in the day, but was stopped by customs officers at the airport when they found a Mauser pistol and an empty cartridge in his luggage. Scharmach said he did not know anything about the gun, which was packed in a power supply device box that he said he bought at a German flea market. He said he came to Taiwan to visit friends. Scharmach was detained for violating regulations governing the control and prohibition of guns, ammunition and knives.
EDUCATION
Swiss hold art contest
Nearly 1,500 primary-school students have submitted their work to an art competition held by the Trade Office of Swiss Industries in Taipei, the office said recently, adding that it expected more participants before the contest’s closing date on Friday. “The launch of the 2012 Primary Students’ Drawing Competition ‘How I see Switzerland’ has received a resounding response,” office director Jost Feer said. It is the first time the office is holding such an activity, he said, adding that all the entries were very creative and surprising. The activity serves as a way to promote Switzerland and its tourism, and different competitions will be held each year, the office said. The competition is open to primary school students, born between 2000 and 2005, and residing in Taiwan. Interested participants can choose any Swiss scenery, landmarks, people or customs as their topics. All eligible entries will be uploaded on the office’s Web site on Oct. 15, with the winners announced on Dec. 1, the office said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai