■ Military affairs
Civil defense drills held
A rehearsal for two civil defense drills scheduled to be staged in Taiwan's southernmost county of Pingtung on Thursday to test and sharpen homeland security protection measures was held yesterday, county officials said. The rehearsal for the joint excercise of the Tung Hsin No. 16 training drill for reservists and the Wan An No. 27 civil defense drill was held in Chaochou township, Pingtung County. In the drill scenario, invading enemies launch surprise landings on the coasts of Pingtung's Fangliao and Fangshan rural townships, while Taiwan's armed forces, including the reservists, try to deter the enemies from pushing north with the help of Pingtung civilians. The joint exercises will mark the first time in the nation's history that civilians and neighborhoods have been involved in drills for homeland protection, the officials said.
■ Society
Doctors remove beer bottle
A man with the habit of inserting odd objects into his rectum was admitted to the emergency room of National Taiwan University Hospital yesterday. Doctors spent two hours removing a bottle of Taiwan Beer he had inserted into his anus. What particularly complicated the procedure was that the bottle had been inserted wide-end first. The man was required to remain in hospital for thee days for further observation. Records of the Veterans General Hospital over the past 20 years show that the man's habit is by no means an unusual one. Other objects retrieved from anuses include flower vases, glass bottles, vibrators and table legs. The largest object ever removed was a bowling pin. One of the hospital's male patients was admitted on three separate occasions with a different object each time.
■ Society
Ma praises social work
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged yesterday to continue to incorporate government and non-government resources to promote community building in the capital city. Ma said there has been a number of successful cases, such as the "Sunshine Kitchen" set up by a group of women in the Neihu district with the help of a non-government organization. The kitchen, which cooks meals and gives them away to low-income families and elderly people who live alone in the neighborhood, has helped solve the unemployment problem for middle-aged women and also provides care for senior citizens, Ma said. The mayor said there is still ample room for community building in the city, where apartment complexes are emerging as the new form of community.
■ Education
Wang appointed to new post
Wang Fu-lin (王福林), director of the education ministry's Department of Physical Education, will be sworn in as head of the ministry's student military education, the first time the position will be held by a civilian. Wang's position will be filled by Tseng Teh-jin (曾德錦), an educational supervisor at the ministry. Wang's predecessor, Sung Wen (宋文), was indicted on charges of corruption last Friday. The case first surfaced in July when a local Chinese-language newspaper reported that Sung allegedly took advantage of his son's wedding dinner to accept bribes. Prosecutors recommended a 13-year sentence if he is found guilty. Sung is out on bail and plans to apply to get his job back. Sung will automatically lose his position if he fails to file an application within three months. The ministry will call a meeting to review his application.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
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