■ Politics
Nominations blocked
The Legislative Yuan yesterday decided to postpone its consideration of Control Yuan nominations made by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) owing to objections from opposition lawmakers. Chen's request for legislators to consent to the nominations was shelved during a meeting of the opposition-controlled Procedure Committee held to schedule the legislative agenda for next week. The pan-blue camp is dissatisfied with the nominations, especially that of Clement Chang (張建邦), who was nominated for Control Yuan president.
■ Justice
Death sentence times five
A man who admitted to killing six people, including five relatives, for NT$13.21 million (US$409,000) in insurance payments was sentenced to death for a record fifth time, a court official said yesterday. The Chiayi District Court on Monday meted out three death penalties to Chen Jui-chin (陳瑞欽), 54, for killing his three sons. Chen had previously received a life sentence and two other death sentences for murdering two wives and a third woman. An investigation found Chen had killed his first wife in 1985 while she was in hospital, picking up an insurance policy payout worth NT$2 million. Over the next several years, four insurance companies paid Chen a total of NT$11.21 million for the death of his son, Chen Chien-hung (陳建宏), in 1995 and two adopted sons murdered in 1988 and 1998. The investigation said Chen murdered his second wife in 1996 and murdered a third woman in May last year. The previous record number of death sentences awarded to an individual was three, meted out to a man after killing seven people.
■ Crime
Court backtracks on bomber
The Taiwan High Court late last night reversed a decision to release alleged gas bomber Kao Pao-chung (高寶中) on bail, saying the crime posed a potential threat to the nation. Although Kao, accused of having ignited a gas-filled minivan outside Taipei Railway Station two days before the legislative elections, was released by the Taipei District Court on bail of NT$100,000, Taipei City prosecutors appealed the decision last week. Taipei District Court will now rehear the case to decide whether to detain Kao. Kao will be subpoenaed to court again. Police say they've been monitoring Kao's whereabouts since he was released, and restrictions have been in place to prevent him from leaving the country.
■ Science
Satellite photos get push
The National Science Program Office (NSPO) yesterday signed a contract with National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), which will become one of the main domestic promoters of image products taken by ROCSAT-2, the nation's second satellite, also nicknamed FORMOSAT-2. According to the office, high-resolution images taken by ROCSAT-2 can be used in diverse fields, including disaster prevention, geological survey, environmental monitoring, crops development, land utilities, scientific research and other educational applications. "From now on, users can obtain satellite images through the channel of domestic promoters, including NTNU and other universities," office director Lance Wu (吳作樂) said. The university plans to incorporate satellite images into teaching materials in order to promote students' environmental knowledge.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
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