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.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
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,
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