■ Taichung
Harbor gets investment
In a bid to further develop Taichung harbor and make it into a free-trade harbor zone, the Cabinet yesterday announced that the government and the private sector combined will invest a total of NT$13.7 billion for the next five years. According to a press release, the Cabinet will invest NT$5 billion while the private sector will contribute NT$8.7 billion. The fund will be used to build public-infrastructure projects including 64 wharfs and 15 specialized areas within the free-trade harbor zone, as well as pay for the broadening and deepening of waterways.
■ Cross-strait ties
Pair convicted of murder
Two Chinese men have been sentenced to death in Shanghai for the murder and robbery of a Taiwanese businessman and his family, the Chinese government said yesterday. The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court found Huang Ligang (黃利剛) and Cheng Liang (程亮) guilty of killing Song Yu (宋鈺), his wife and their four-year-old daughter during a robbery attempt on June 23, said a court official, who refused to give her name. The sentence was issued Tuesday after a one-day trial, she said. The attack prompted Taiwan to appeal for increased security for its investors in China, tens of thousands of whom live in Shanghai. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Huang and Cheng stole a laptop computer and Chinese and foreign currency from the home, then fled in the family's four-wheel-drive vehicle. They were arrested two days later in a rural area of Jiangsu Province, Xinhua said.
■ Crime
Alleged embezzlers wanted
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles on Tuesday asked the overseas Chinese community to help locate a couple wanted in Taiwan. Liu Kuan-chun (劉冠軍), former chief accountant of the National Security Bureau, is wanted on charges of embezzling more than NT$192 million (US$5.5 million), while his wife, Meng Wen-hua (孟雯華), is wanted for allegedly assisting Liu in embezzling the money and in engaging in money laundering. Liu left Taiwan on Sept. 3, 2000, and his wife left the following day. Sources said that Liu first went to China and hid in Shanghai, while Meng took their two children to Toronto, Canada. Recent overseas media reports said that the family could be hiding in North America, possibly in southern California. Anyone with information concerning Liu and his family is asked to contact the office at (213) 389-1215, or write to the Investigation Bureau at P O Box 60000, Hsintien, Taipei, Taiwan.
■ Terrorism
Baghdad attack condemned
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned the devastating terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad. In a press statement released by the ministry last night, the ministry also expressed its condolences over people who died during the attack. Top UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello was among the more than 20 victims who were killed in Tuesday's massive bomb blast, which could be felt more than a kilometer away. In the press release, the ministry stressed Taiwan's willingness to support the UN's plans for rebuilding Iraq and stated that Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to express Taiwan's sympathy for the victims and their families.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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