■ Crime
Criminals repatriated
Four criminals wanted in Taiwan -- including a gang leader -- who had fled to China have been repatriated back to Taiwan via Macau, Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) officials said yesterday. The CIB officials said that with the assistance of the Macau police they were able to trace the four, identified as Oung Chi-ching (翁之靖), 52, Wei Yung-tien (魏永田), 47, Wang Shao-hung (王紹鴻), 40, and Chang Cheng-chun (張正春), 39. All four were expelled by the Chinese authorities to Macau. Taiwan police, working with their Macau counterparts, then brought the four suspects back to Taiwan. Police said the repatriation is a positive result of a crackdown on crime and sends a message that criminals who flee to China will no longer find a safe haven there.
■ Water
Reservoir level drops
The water level in the Feitsui Reservoir in northern Taipei County had fallen below 150m as of late Thursday, the lowest level since the beginning of this year and a record February low since the reservoir's opening 15 years ago. The water level is 10m lower than the average for this month and about 4.5m lower than the level recorded for the corresponding month last year. The water level Thursday evening was just 52.52 percent of capacity. Despite precipitation over the past week, the reservoir has received only a limited amount of additional water. Although Taipei Water Department Director Kuo Juei-hua (郭瑞華) said it remains too early to talk about water rationing, he urged the public not to waste the resource and added that his department has asked public establishments and schools to be equipped with water-conservation equipment starting next month.
■ Environment
EPA denies pricing policy
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday it has not yet set any timetable for an across-the-board implementation of a unit-based garbage collection pricing system. The Cabinet-level agency was responding to media reports that the EPA will begin to collect per-bag garbage disposal fees countrywide by the end of this year. "The report is not true," said Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文), an EPA department chief in charge of solid-waste disposal. At present, only the Taipei City Government implements a per-bag policy for garbage collection. "The success of the Taipei experience might not necessarily be suitable for enforcement in other cities and counties at the moment," Chen said, adding that the EPA will evaluate manpower resources, relevant facilities and environmental education in various areas before setting a timetable for implementing such a pricing system.
■ Japan
Student arrested for forgery
A Taiwanese student studying at a private college in Japan has been arrested in connection to a credit-card forgery ring, police said yesterday. Police also seized around 800 forged and genuine credit cards, as well as equipment used to produce counterfeit credit cards. Police said that Chen Kuo-wen (陳國文), 33, who lives in Tokyo, was involved in producing 10 fake credit cards in mid-November based on cards issued to foreign customers by 10 operators in France, Britain and Sweden. Police said that four people, including Taiwanese and Japanese, used the forged cards to shop for electrical appliances in Tokyo at the end of last year, and then resold them for at least ?70 million (around US$580,000).
A tropical depression in waters east of the Philippines could develop into a tropical storm as soon as today and bring rainfall as it approaches, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, while issuing heat warnings for 14 cities and counties. Weather model simulations show that there are still considerable differences in the path that the tropical depression is projected to take. It might pass through the Bashi Channel to the South China Sea or turn northeast and move toward the sea south of Japan, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said, adding that the uncertainty of its movement is still high,
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
Discounted 72-hour Taipei Metro passes are to be offered to China Airlines passengers until Feb. 28 next year, the airline announced today. China Airlines passengers may present their boarding pass for a discount of up to 34 percent when buying a Taipei Metro 72-hour unlimited travel pass. The offer is available to international travelers on international flights bound for Taipei. Within seven days of arrival, travelers can present their boarding pass, passport and proof of flight payment at an EZfly counter in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or Taoyuan MRT Taipei Main Station to obtain the discounted passes, the airline said. One 72-hour pass
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