■ Law
Hsieh loses libel suit
The Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch yesterday dropped Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) libel suit against four major officials of the Chinese-language newspaper the United Daily News. The verdict is final and Hsieh cannot appeal it. Hsieh filed a libel suit against publisher Wang Shaw-lan (王效蘭), president Wang Wen-shan (王文杉), editor-in-chief Huang Su-chuan (黃素娟) and chief staff writer Huang Nien (黃年) over two editorials that ran early last year which implied that he had been involved in the 2002 Kaohsiung City Council speakership election bribery case and had tried to take advantage of his position to manipulate the judicial system. The defendants had argued that the editorials were trying to remind prosecutors to be more careful in investigating the bribery case instead of deliberately attacking Hsieh.
■ Heritage
Shihlin residence to open
Taipei City Government's Bureau of Cultural Affairs yesterday announced that it will take over management of the official Shihlin residence of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his wife, Soong Mayling (宋美齡), from the Presidential Office and open the house to the public after renovation and maintenance. The structure has been designated as having historic value, and the grounds of which it is part are already open to the public and proving to be a popular draw. Bureau Director Liao Hsien-hao (廖咸浩) yesterday said the bureau had taken over maintenance and management of the structure while asking the Presidential Office to provide the budget for its renovation and to complete an inventory of the Chiangs' personal belongings.
■ Politics
Man gives up US passport
A long-term supporter of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that he will forfeit his US citizenship to return to Taiwan to serve as a senior adviser to President Chen. Wu Li-pei (吳澧培), founder of the Formosa Foundation and head of an overseas group that is friendly to Chen, said that he would return to Taiwan in mid-July at the latest. Wu said that he first thought about forfeiting his US citizenship and returning to Taiwan when he founded an overseas group supportive of the president in Los Angles in 2000. But with increasing members of the group and the founding of the Formosa Foundation in 2002, Wu said he stayed in the US because he wanted to help the deepening of democracy in Taiwan.
■ Society
Aboriginal homes torn down
About 500 police officers and construction workers yesterday morning demolished illegally-built houses in the "State of Kaosha" (高砂國), an Aboriginal community located in Kaohsiung County's Taliao township, local media reported yesterday. Reports said Kaohsiung resident Su Jung-tsung (蘇榮宗) rented six hectares of land for agricultural purposes from the Taiwan Sugar Corporation in April last year and rented it to almost 200 Aboriginal families at NT$3,000 per household. The illegally-built community later called itself the State of Kaosha, based on an old Japanese name for Taiwan, and refused to relocate. The Kaohsiung County Government decided to act yesterday, and although the demolition team was confronted by members of the community, the structures were pulled down by noon.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
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