CRIME
DPP offices burglarized
A burglar broke into the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, stealing NT$90,000, but documents and equipment were left intact, the party said in a statement yesterday. Surveillance footage showed that a man broke into the eighth floor of the building and was inside for about 10 minutes before leaving without taking any files, computers or equipment, the DPP said. The party reported the incident to the police, who are investigating it, according to the statement. The DPP headquarters is in the Huashan Business Building on 30 Beiping E Road. Local media later yesterday reported that the suspect is a South Korean who is listed by Interpol as a thief.
GOVERNMENT
MOI to relax firefighter rules
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to relax regulations on the recruitment of firefighters in an effort to increase the number of new recruits, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The revised rules would allow people older than 20 who have not spent time in prison in the past 10 years to apply as volunteer firefighters, regardless of their household registration address, the ministry said. Current regulations stipulate that people older than 20 who have not served time in prison or participated in court-ordered educational programs must reside at the address listed in their household registration to become volunteer firefighters.
SOCIETY
Nun receives citizenship
Philippine Catholic nun O Anuna, who has devoted almost half of her life to taking care of children with disabilities in Taiwan, yesterday officially became a Taiwanese citizen. “I am most joyful when with the children, and I am happy to be able to stay in Taiwan forever,” the 58-year-old sister said after receiving her Republic of China identification card from Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠). Despite the challenges in taking care of children with disabilities she has encountered over the past 27 years, Anuna said that she has enjoyed the process, adding that her decision to become a Taiwanese citizen has also gained the support of her family. That she was given an ROC identification card shows that her love for the children has been appreciated, she said. Born in the Philippines in 1959, Anuna arrived in Taiwan in 1990 to serve at Sacred Heart Home, a charitable Catholic organization in Chiayi’s Dongshih Township (東石) that is dedicated to caring for individuals with moderate or severe disabilities.
TRANSPORTATION
Airport riders to pass 10m
Ridership on the Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line is expected to surpass 10 million by the end of the month, Taoyuan Metro Corp chairman Liu Kun-yi (劉坤億) said on Wednesday. The railway system had carried 8.6 million passengers as of the end of last month, about five months after it started commercial operations, Liu said. The line carries 54,000 passengers per day, with Taipei Main Station, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Airport Terminal 1, Airport Terminal 2 and Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station being the busiest stations, company statistics showed. The five stations account for 68 percent of total passengers using the line, with Taipei Main Station accounting for 2.25 million rides, or 26.1 percent, over the past five months. Taoyuan’s Hengshan and and Singnan stations are the least used, Liu said.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
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