■ Diplomacy
Nicaragua to query funds
Nicaragua will ask Taiwan if it transferred US$1.5 million to former president Arnoldo Aleman, a prosecutor said Tuesday. "We are going to ask Taiwan to clear up these transfers," to Aleman, prosecutor Alberto Novoa said. Aleman, president from 1997 to 2002 and already in prison for corruption, is under investigation on charges he received US$1.5 million through a Panama-based foundation. La Prensa newspaper exposed the funds transfers, based on a report of Panamanian anti-corruption prosecutors, who are investigating Aleman for allegedly laundering money through Panamanian banks. Panamanian prosecutors allege that Aleman received the US$1.5 million from several Taiwanese companies, through an account that the Nicaraguan Democratic Foundation had at a bank in Panama. Aleman and two associates opened the foundation account, according to prosecutors.
■ Diplomacy
Kim hopes ties are boosted
Former South Korean President Kim Young-sam said yesterday that since direct air links between Taiwan and South Korea have been resumed, political, cultural and economic ties should be further developed. Kim said he hopes his visit will contribute to Taiwan's efforts to further integrate into the international community. Kim made the remarks during a courtesy call on Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at Taipei City Hall. Kim said that he shares with Ma a love for jogging, adding that he has been running every day for the past 33 years. Ma introduced Taipei 101 to Kim and offered him a series of books about the city of Taipei.
■ Culture
Gold brick may break record
Taipei County's Gold Ecological Park will display a gold brick weighing 220kg Oct. 28, officials said yesterday. The brick could break the current Guinness record for the heaviest single gold brick. The Taipei County Government intends to apply to Guinness for inclusion. An official from Guinness stationed in Taiwan will be on hand to witness the unveiling of the gold brick.
■ Crime
Shooting shatters windows
Random shots fired by an air gun shattered glass at the CIT TV office building in Neihu and its surrounding area yesterday. Windows were broken in the CIT TV building, a car dealership and a bus stop close by the TV station's office building along Minquan East Road. The shooting is currently being investigated by Neihu police. They have yet to conclude if it had anything to do with an angry TV viewer.
■ Travel
Plane damage report due
A damage report on a Transasia Airways Corp A320 airplane that skidded off the runway after landing Oct. 19 at Sungshan Airport is expected to be completed by next week when Airbus Industrie engineers will decide whether or not the plane can be repaired. TransAsia flight GE536 from Tainan suffered damage to the front wheel of the aircraft and the cowling covering a generator. There were 106 passengers and crew members on board at the time. Aviation safety experts have been analyzing data on the incident to determine if the cause was pilot error, weather or mechanical failure. TransAsia Airways officials said yesterday that Airbus experts are in Taipei to assess the damage.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
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
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
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
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