US authorities have confirmed that at least one of the victims in a killing spree last week in California was a Taiwanese student, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anna Kao (高安) said yesterday.
Representatives from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Exchange Office (TECRO) branch in Los Angeles has “established direct contact with local authorities” and the University of California at Santa Barbara to offer its assistance, Kao added.
On Friday night, Elliot Rodger, 22, allegedly stabbed to death his two roommates — Hong Cheng-yuan (洪晟元), also known as James, 20, and George Chen, 19 — and a visitor, Wang Weihan, 20, from Fremont, California, in their apartment near the university campus.
Rodger then drove to the Alpha Phi sorority house on campus and shot three women on the lawn.
Katherine Cooper, 22, and Veronika Weiss, 19 — both students at the university — were killed. The third women, as yet unidentified, is being treated for multiple gunshot wounds.
Rodger drove on to a local deli, went inside and shot and killed Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, 20.
He injured 13 more either with gunshots or a car that he used as a battering ram against bicyclists and skateboarders.
The killing spree claimed seven lives, including Rodger’s.
The Santa Barbara County Sherriff’s Office said Rodger took his own life after the rampage.
US media reports said Rodger had uploaded multiple YouTube videos, including one, which has since been removed, titled Day of Retribution, promising to have “his revenge against humanity” — particularly the women whom he claims rejected him.
Hong, who identified himself on Facebook as having grown up in Taipei, had graduated from Lynbrook High School in San Jose, California, the TECRO office in Los Angeles said.
The office is still seeking confirmation with the university whether Chen was also Taiwanese.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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