TRAVEL
Tour leader robbed in Paris
The Taiwanese tour group leader in Paris was robbed of about 20,000 euros (US$22,415) in cash, but members of the group were safe and their itinerary was not affected, the tour agency said. Group leader Lee Cheng-han’s (李政翰) bag was taken from his shoulder outside his hotel when he and the group were about to leave Paris for Lyon on Thursday. The 11-day tour of France and Switzerland was arranged by Music Travel Taiwan, the agency’s manager said. Lee immediately reported the case to police and asked the Representative Office of Taiwan in Paris, France, for assistance in issuing new passports. The Tourism Bureau yesterday said the theft delayed the group’s travel by about an hour. The group is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Friday. Paris has about 30 million visitors a year, and police recommend that Asian tourists avoid carrying a lot of cash because many thieves see them as easy targets.
GOVERNMENT
Lin resolves to lead nation
Premier Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday reaffirmed his commitment to solve problems for Taiwan and pledged to continue to lead the nation forward. In a Facebook post marking his first anniversary in office, Lin said the government has been following an economic development policy that focuses on innovation, employment and distribution since its inauguration on May 20 last year. “I’ve said that I took the office of premier only to solve problems,” Lin said. Lin said he has traveled throughout the nation in the past year to hear opinions and has overcome many barriers impeding plans.
HEALTH
Seafood factory raided
A seafood company in central Taiwan has been accused of possessing expired frozen shrimp and altering expiration dates on frozen abalone products, the Taichung Health Bureau said on Friday. Acting on a tip-off, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials, local prosecutors and police raided the company on Thursday and seized 12.29 tonnes of abalone and 6.48 tonnes of shrimp. Authorities said they found 60 boxes of expired whiteleg shrimp stored in a company warehouse, adding that the expiration date on 905 boxes of abalone is suspected to have been tampered with. The company operator told investigators that it was an oversight and that the abalone would be correctly labeled as soon as possible. People or companies found selling expired food are subject to fines from NT$60,000 to NT$200 million (US$1,986 to US$6.62 million) under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), authorities said.
SOCIETY
Daan concert hall proposed
The Taipei Urban Planning Commission said it is considering building a concert hall and library east of Daan Forest Park. The site is used by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which plans to relocate to a new building in Neihu District (內湖) possibly by the end of the year. The planned “green” building would include a 1,200 to 1,500-seat concert hall, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Chinese Orchestra and a “smart” library, which would serve as the Taipei Public Library headquarters. The new library would use intelligent systems such as an automated warehouse, robot-assisted guided tours and book searches. The proposed building, which is to be environmentally responsible and resource efficient, would be built on a 26,764m2 site. Roads would be widened by 16m to improve access and traffic flow to Daan Park and other public facilities.
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
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
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard