■ Politics
Candidate detained
A Kaohsiung City councilor candidate was detained by prosecutors yesterday for allegedly buying votes, which made him the second detainee as a city councilor candidate for this year's mayoral and city councilor election in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung prosecutor Hsiao Yu-cheng (蕭宇誠) summoned KMT Kaohsiung City Councilor Chang Ray-te (張瑞德), who is currently running for his re-election, and his younger brother Chang Chieh-min (張詰旻) on Friday night for their alleged vote-buying behaviors and decided to detain them around 1am yesterday. The detention was immediately approved by the Kaohsiung District Court. According to Hsiao, Chang and his younger brother bought votes from Chang's vote captains and voters in Kaohsiung's Lingya, Hsinhsing and Chienjin districts by giving away free admission tickets to a dinner party on Nov. 10. Chang and his younger brother have not yet been indicted.
■ English speaking
Contest winners rewarded
Students from all over Taiwan made their way to the Taipei Times offices in Taipei yesterday to pick up awards for compositions run in the paper's bilingual section throughout September and October. Winners included elementary school students Ken Yang (楊岡昀), of the National Experimental High School in Hsinchu, and Jonathan Hu (胡桓瑋), representing Lin Sen Elementary School in Taipei, and graduate student Bruce Yang (楊博志), a masters degree candidate in applied English at Southern Taiwan University of Technology in Changhua. Taipei Times president Lee Chang-kuei (李長貴) told the assembled winners that the ability to express oneself in English is an essential skill for a bright future in Taiwan.
Staff writer
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
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