A public memorial event for eight military personnel killed in a military helicopter crash of a UH-60M Black Hawk on Thursday last week is to be held on Tuesday at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), the Ministry of Defense said on Thursday.
Their coffins are to be draped with the national flag, the ministry said, adding that it would confer posthumous, one-rank promotions, with their families to receive their commendations and decorations.
Four Mirage 2000 fighters are to perform a “missing man formation” flyby, while three Black Hawk helicopters conduct a low-altitude flyby as a salute to the deceased, the ministry said.
The missing man formation starts with a standard “finger-four” formation and one aircraft, usually the leader of the second element, pulls up and out of formation to honor the person or people who have died.
The Black Hawk was on Thursday last week carrying the military personnel to Dongaoling Base (東澳嶺) in Yilan County when it went down in the mountains of New Taipei City’s Wulai District (烏來) with 13 people on board.
The deceased were chief of the general staff general Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴), Political Warfare Bureau deputy director major general Yu Chin-wen (于親文), major general Hung Hung-chun (洪鴻鈞) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence, major Huang Sheng-hang (黃聖航) of the Office of the Chief of the General Staff, chief master sergeant Han Cheng-hung (韓正宏), pilot lieutenant colonel Yeh Chien-yi (葉建儀), copilot captain Liu Chen-fu (劉鎮富) and crew chief master sergeant Hsu Hung-pin (許鴻彬).
Shen’s and Huang’s ashes are to be laid to rest at Wujhihshan Military Cemetery in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止), although Huang’s urn would rest at a separate level, due to his rank, the ministry said.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not