Hong Kong singer William So (蘇永康) yesterday emphasized that there was no connection between his early release from the Taipei Drug Abstention and Treatment Center (台北煙毒勒戒所) and Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) recent visit to the facility.
"If she hadn't come, I would still be leaving," So said in a press conference yesterday.
According to an evaluation prepared by the center's psychiatric staff, So has quit using and doesn't intend to take drugs again.
On that basis, the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office decided to release So from the drug rehabilitation program on Monday.
So had completed 10 days of a one-month rehabilitation program. Since the decision to release him early was made right after the vice president's visit to the center last Saturday, they two events were thought by some to be linked.
"All decisions in this case have been legal. So was a patient -- not a criminal. Once there was evidence showing that he was not addicted to drugs, permission to leave was granted." said Lo Chia-hsi (羅嘉希), So's lawyer.
"I have received no special treatment. The only difference in my case was that I asked not to march outside in the morning so as to avoid the Hong Kong paparazzi." So said.
"Saturday Karaoke is a monthly event at the center and it was a coincidence that Vice President Lu came. Also, it was not really a contest, as there was no prize." noted So.
So was arrested for having Ecstasy tablets at a dance club on Nanking East Road, along with an entourage of 11 friends and colleagues on June 8. He was sent to the drug center in Tucheng after a hearing on Aug. 2.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
RSS