The Ministry of Justice said yesterday it had requested three times that Chinese authorities repatriate fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪), but to no avail, adding that it will keep trying.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday that former Tuntex Group chairman Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪), who was indicted in late 2003 on suspicion of embezzling NT$800 million (US$27 million) from his firm and fleeing to China, appeared on Thursday at a luxury restaurant financed by himself in Xiamen City, in China’s Fujian Province, where he treated about 50 former colleagues from National Taiwan University’s Economics Department to a banquet.
Approached by the Apple Daily for an interview, Chen reportedly said: “I am a person on [Taiwan’s] wanted list. I cannot be interviewed.”
According to the Apple Daily report, Chen’s 50 former colleagues formed a group to travel around China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. Before leaving China, they stopped in Xiamen Province and were treated to Chen’s banquet.
The ministry said that since Taiwan and China signed an agreement to combat crime in April 2009, it had asked Chinese authorities to repatriate Chen in August 2009, September 2010 and May of this year, but without success.
The ministry added that Chen — who is doing business in China — does not shy away from making public appearances and so it should be easy for Chinese authorities to locate him.
The ministry has been criticized for being unable to repatriate Taiwanese fugitives from China such as Chen, former An Feng Group president Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄), former Kuangsan Enterprise Group president Tseng Cheng-jen (曾正仁) and former legislative speaker Liu Sung-fan (劉松藩).
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are