SOCIETY
Ex-minister’s bust unveiled
A bronze bust honoring former minister of justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) was unveiled in Yilan County on Saturday by the Chen Ding-nan Education Foundation. A memorial concert was also held to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the passing of Chen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, who died of lung cancer on Nov. 5, 2006. He was known as “Mr Clean” because of his dedication to fighting corruption through his political career. The bust was made by Hsu Wei-chung (許維忠), who said that although he had not met Chen, he endeavored to highlight Chen’s upright and solemn expression in the work, which took him eight days to complete. Hopefully, people who see the bust will remember Chen’s deeds and contributions to society, Hsu said.
INTERNET
YouTube video touts Taiwan
An online video titled “Don’t go to Taiwan” has accumulated nearly 1.5 million views since it was posted on YouTube on Sunday last week, with more than 48,000 “likes” and many positive comments about Taiwan. The three-and-a-half-minute video by French travel photographer “Tolt” juxtaposes images from Taiwan with negative titles, starting with “Taiwan is just buildings and factories.” That is followed by “Taiwanese nature is completely lifeless,” “Taiwanese temples are quite humdrum,” “Taiwan is not a destination for outdoor lovers,” “Taiwanese culture is not so diversified” and “Taiwan has no gastronomy.” However, the images belie the assertions, showcasing the beauty of Taiwan’s forests, cloud-topped mountains and wild animals, as well as its temples and foods. The message, “The heart of Asia will enchant you,” appears at the end of the video, which was produced with the support of the Tourism Bureau. Tolt is the nickname of Benjamin Martinie, who has produced similar travel videos on YouTube. To give viewers a clue that the video’s title is ironic, Martinie has written “Never set foot on Taiwanese soil. Please watch this video until the end to be sure to understand,” in the video’s description tab.
CRIME
Police probing glider death
Police have launched an investigation into the death of a 35-year-old woman who died after being hit by a model glider at an event in Kenting (墾丁) on Saturday. The aircraft, operated by a US national identified only with the surname Cortina, allegedly crashed into the woman at the F3F Radio Control Soaring (Slope) World Cup at Lungpan Park. Her two-year-old son, who she was holding at the time of the incident, suffered a cut on his neck, police said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while her son was hospitalized, they said. Police on Satureday summoned Cortina and Taiwan R/C Slope Glider Association head Tseng Kuo-tung (曾國棟) for questioning. Tseng was released the same day, while Cortina, with help from an attorney assigned by the American Institute in Taiwan, was released yesterday on NT$200,000 bail. Prosecutors ordered him to remain at his residence and not leave the nation. Investigators are probing whether the association or Cortina was involved in negligent homicide or assault. Kenting National Park Headquarters Director Hsu Ya-ju (許亞儒) said that the four-day competition has been suspended. Lungpan Park, recognized as one of the best locations for remote-controlled slope glider competitions in the nation, would not host similar competitions without safety assurances from the organizer, Hsu said.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods