SOCIETY
Trekker returns home alone
A Taiwanese trekker who went missing for 47 days in the Himalayas and saw his girlfriend die there returned to Taiwan yesterday after recovering in a hospital in Nepal. Liang Sheng-yue (梁聖岳) appeared weak and tired on arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and did not respond to reporters’ questions. The 21-year-old and his girlfriend, Liu Chen-chun (劉宸君), 18, arrived in Nepal from India in late February and began their trek in early March. According to Liang, the couple encountered heavy snow on the third day of their journey and they fell off a cliff while trying to get down the mountain to find shelter. They stayed in a cave to wait for assistance. However, their food only lasted for two weeks, after which they had only salt and water. Liu died three days before Liang was found on Wednesday last week by a team of experienced rescuers, who spotted vultures circling above the cave where the couple took refuge.
LABOR
Security guards to get older
A legislative committee on Monday approved a draft amendment that would allow security providers to hire guards up to the age of 70. The proposal, passed by the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, also retained a clause requiring private security guards and other security personnel to be at least 20. The existing law does not allow private security guards to work beyond 65. Committee convener William Tseng (曾銘宗) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had proposed that those aged 18 to 70 be able to work as security guards, but KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) said it would not be safe to have teenagers working as security guards in residential and office buildings or at construction sites. Huang’s concerns were accepted.
ENTERTAINMENT
Britney Spears to play gig
US pop singer Britney Spears, who rose to international stardom in the late 1990s and has sold about 100 million records worldwide, is to hold her first-ever concert in Taiwan next month, a promoter said. The concert “Britney Live in Taipei 2017” is to take place at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center on June 13, with tickets to go on sale on Saturday next week, IMEtw announced yesterday. Seated tickets are to cost NT$2,680 to NT$7,680 and standing tickets are to cost NT$1,680, the promoter said. In a career spanning almost two decades, the 35-year-old has released nine studio albums.
SOCIETY
Marathon club charged
The owner and an employee of a marathon club have been indicted on charges of falsifying documents to bring Kenyan runners into the nation, the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office said on Monday. The club was involved in falsifying invitation letters from a well-established sportswear brand so that the Kenyans could successfully apply for Taiwanese visas, Tainan Chief Prosecutor Chen Chien-hung (陳建弘) said. The club owner and the employee, identified only as Lin (林) and Lu (盧), were found to have invited more than 10 Kenyan athletes to Taiwan between December 2015 and August last year to compete in marathons. Acting on tips provided by the National Immigration Agency, police raided the club and found evidence of falsified documents and account books. The two would also take a cut from the Kenyan runners’ winnings in the races, and they profited by NT$600,000 (US$19,959) from a total of NT$6 million to NT$7 million in prize money during this period, prosecutors alleged.
AGENCIES
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
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