■ Crime
US fugitive goes home
American murder suspect William Kimmick was escorted back to the US by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents yesterday. Agents from Guam and Kimmick took a late night Continental Airlines flight yesterday and will directly return to Vermont to close the case. Kimmick, an electronic technician and a Vermont native, fled to Taiwan on Jan. 25. The Vermont State Court announced that he was wanted for questioning in connection with the murder of his wife at his residence on Jan. 20. Accompanied by an American friend who is living in Taiwan, Kimmick turned himself in to the Hengchun Police Precinct on Feb. 8.
■ Health
Taipei lifts SARS measures
Taipei City Government's Health Bureau yesterday lifted the temperature-taking measure and mask requirements for entering municipal hospitals and organizations belonging to the city government. Since the Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced it was reducing the SARS warning to zero, SARS prevention measures could be lifted according to the CDC's regulations, bureau official Chiu Chan-hsien (邱展賢) said. But Chiu suggested that people who have fever should still wear a mask when seeing a doctor because it is flu season. However, Chiu said that although the vigilance level against SARS is lower, the public must remain on guard against avian influenza. Chiu said that the bureau was happy that the flu outbreak expected after the Lunar New Year failed to materialize, but added that because of the threat of avian flu, it will continue to ask those who work in schools, hospices and hospitals to monitor their temperatures daily.
■ Crime
Police catch dognappers
Eleven dogs of popular breeds were "kidnapped" yesterday while their owner was forced to pay a ransom of NT$271,000, but the police successfully rescued the dogs and arrested the suspects. According to the police, the victim, Kuo Chi-chiang (郭志強), owned a dog kennel in Taoyuan. A 37-year-old suspect, Lu Hung-yi (呂泓毅), and a 44-year-old suspect, Chien Hsin-yi (簡新億), realized that Kuo had several expensive breeds, so they decided to extort money from him. Lu called Kuo and said that he was working for SET-TV and would like to invite him and his dogs to a TV show. However, he needed Kuo to show him his dogs first. Lu arranged to meet Kuo at a restaurant in Taoyuan. Kuo left a golden retriever, a schnauzer and nine dachshunds in his car while he went to meet Lu at the restaurant. However, Chien stole his car, along with the 11 dogs while Kuo was away. To get his dogs back, Kuo ended up paying Lu and Chien NT$271,000 but he didn't get his dogs back until the police arrested the suspects and rescued his dogs yesterday.
■ Crime
Officials seize drugs
Customs officers reported yesterday that a large amount of contraband Chinese medicine had been seized a day earlier at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport's cargo terminal. The contraband included balms, anti-impotence pills, powdered heart-disease medicine and herbal extracts, packed in 11 boxes. Customs officers said that although the medicine could be obtained easily in China, they were banned from entering Taiwan because none of it had passed Department of Health tests. Much of the haul is expensive on the Chinese market, the customs officers said, adding that the total seizures were worth an estimated NT$10 million.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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