■ Society
Hsichih Trio hearing today
The Taiwan High Court will rehear the 12-year-old Hsichih Trio murder case today at 2:30pm. Today's rehearing was ordered by the Supreme Court on Aug. 8 after an appeal filed by prosecutors on behalf of the victims' family. The trio -- Su Chien-ho (蘇建和), Liu Bing-lang (劉秉郎) and Chuang Lin-hsun (莊林勳) -- who were found innocent and released after more than a decade in prison -- following a retrial on Jan. 13, said that they will attend the hearing. The Judicial Reform Foundation (民間司法改革基金會) will hold a press conference in front of the high court at 1:50pm to show their support for the trio.
■ Defense
US team here for sub talks
A US Navy group arrived in Taipei yesterday to give the government a progress report on a submarine procurement project. The 10-member team, headed by Gibson Leboeuf, deputy chief of the US Navy International Program Department, will meet with officials from the Navy General Headquarters to discuss the progress of the plan to procure eight diesel submarines, part of a 2001 arms deal. Since the US stopped producing diesel submarines long ago, its contractors will have to cooperate with their European counterparts to build the subs.
■ Politics
Campaign to dribble out
The pan-blue alliance is planning to announce its presidential campaign platform in installments over the next two months, an alliance press official said yesterday. Pang Chien-kuo (龐建國) said that the platform will be divided into 14 parts, each dealing with a single issue of concern to voters. The first part, which focuses on women's welfare, has already been released. The second part, which centers on cross-strait relations, will probably be announced early next month, he said.
■ Politics
Lu honors Madame Chiang
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) visited the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall yesterday to pay homage to the late Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who passed away at the age of 105 on Thursday. Lu bowed to a picture of Madame Chiang that was set up at a temporary memorial service site at the hall. She then shook hands with Chiang-Fang Chih-yi (蔣方智怡) and offered her condolences to the Chiang family for the passage of the "eternal first lady." Lu praised Madame Chiang as "a neo-woman in an old era" who witnessed Chinese, Taiwanese and world history unfold during a life that stretched across three different centuries. With Madame Chiang's passing, a new era has arrived, Lu said, adding that it is time now for the people to "adopt a brand new perspective on matters dealing with internal, diplomatic and cross-strait relations."
■ Human rights
Chen wins praise
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has contributed greatly to Taiwan's democratization and has therefore won the Human Rights Award from the International League for Human Rights (ILHR), the league's chairman, Scott Horton, said yesterday. The ILHR will present Chen with the Human Rights Award on Friday when Chen makes a stopover in New York City on his way to Panama for an official visit. He said Chen defended human rights while he served as a lawyer and that as president, he has made an important contribution to Taiwan's democratization.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
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