The frenzy for Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel dolls that has left patrons in Singapore injured from shattered glass and bloodied noses in short-tempered crowds is prompting concern all the way to the halls of parliament.
McDonald's is selling sets of its limited edition feline-faced stuffed toys in traditional wedding costumes on Thursdays until Feb. 3.
To try to control the mad rush, McDonald's has enlisted a private security force, slapped a cap on the number of dolls each customer can purchase and stopped sales at five locations where traffic congestion has been particularly heavy.
Numerous arguments have erupted in the lines of customers waiting for the dolls. One dispute resulted in a fist fight between a doctor and the family of a truck driver.
Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan-sang has assured members of parliament that although "rage" is not a specific offense in the city-state's laws, provisions against the consequences of such misbehavior such as voluntarily causing injury or rioting "are adequate," with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment and caning.
Michael Ong, the 23-year-owner of a store specializing in collectibles, said he has gone to a McDonald's franchise each Thursday by 3am and has been paying five runners to go to other outlets.
Orders for the Hello Kitty dolls are streaming in from Hello Kitty enthusiasts in Taiwan and the US.
Newspaper pundits say people of all ages are apparently drawn to the cuddly feline.
Hello Kitty fans say the dolls are very "cute" and remind them of a time when today's more sophisticated electronic diversions did not exist, a time when a teddy bear was an Asian child's most cherished toy.
Psychiatrist Kkok Lee-peng said the Hello Kitty toys evoke warm memories of childhood and that there is nothing wrong with such nostalgia.
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
NINE-IN-ONE ELECTIONS: Prosecutors’ offices recorded 115 cases of alleged foreign interference in the presidential election campaign from August 2023 to Dec. 13 last year The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said that it has begun planning early to counter Chinese interference in next year’s nine-in-one elections as its intelligence shows that Beijing might intensify its tactics, while warning of continued efforts to infiltrate the government and military. The bureau submitted a report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of a meeting today of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. “We will research situations in different localities and keep track of abnormalities to ensure that next year’s elections proceed without disruption,” the bureau said. Although the project is generally launched during election years, reports of alleged Chinese interference