■ Military
Officers not invited
Army Commander-in-Chief Hu Chen-pu (胡鎮埔) yesterday said he has not invited military officers to his daughter's wedding next Saturday to avoid suspicion that they might use the opportunity to bribe him in return for promotion. Hu was probably thinking of the case of the former director of the Department of Student Military Training Sung Wen (宋文). Sung was found guilty of accepting bribes during his son's wedding three years ago and dismissed from his job. Hu said he had sent out only 500 invitations to his classmates at the academy because "these classmates have already retired from active service." "I have told my fellow officers not to come nor to send gifts," he added. "Whoever comes or sends gifts will definitely fail during the annual evaluation this year."
■ Society
Kaohsiung wants games
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) will lead a delegation to Torino, Italy, today to solicit support for the city's bid to host the World University Games in 2011. Chen said she hopes to take stock of former Kaohsiung acting mayor Chen Chi-mai's (陳其邁) experience in Germany in 2005 in winning the right for Kaohsiung to host the 2009 World Games. Five cities are bidding to host the 2011 World University Games and Kaohsiung will face stiff competition from other candidates such as Shenzhen, China, Kaohsiung Organizing Committee executive director Chen Yi-heng (陳以亨) said. However, Kaohsiung will have the advantages of an already completed 55,000-seat stadium as well as an athletes village that can accommodate 10,000 after hosting the World Games, he said.
■ Tourism
Chiayi to host lantern fest
Chiayi County will host this year's lantern festival, which will be held from March 3 to March 11. "The lantern festival attracted 5 million people last year, making it the most well-attended festival in Taiwan," the head of the tourism bureau Janice Lai (賴瑟珍) said. Chiayi's application to host the festival this year was favored because of the easy access provided by the newly completed high speed rail, she added. "Visitors are assured of a smooth trip to the show," Lai said. "Those taking the high speed rail will be able to take a shuttle bus from the station straight to the festival site." The showpiece lantern this year will be an 18m Formosan wild boar wearing a gold ingot on its tail to represent prosperity. "It will be a true Alishan mountain pig with tusks," Chiayi County Commissioner Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) said.
■ Military
Generals fail tests
Three Army brigade commanders were relieved of their positions recently after their units failed a comprehensive combat capability assessment, Army Commander-in-Chief Hu Chen-pu (胡鎮埔) said yesterday. Noting that the assessment used objective criteria in determining military personnel promotions and transfers, Hu said the new merit-only system would help prevent favoritism within the military. The evaluation covers two areas -- tangible and intangible combat abilities, Hu said, with the assessment jointly conducted by the Army's deputy commanding general, the presidents of various military academies, senior executives of test centers and commanding officers of military units. Three of the brigades tested failed to attain the passing grade of 70 out of 100. Their commanders, all major generals, have been trans-ferred to non-leadership posts.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
A mountain blaze that broke out yesterday morning in Yangmingshan National Park was put out after five hours, following multi agency efforts involving dozens of fire trucks and helicopter water drops. The fire might have been sparked by an air quality sensor operated by the National Center for High-Performance Computing, one of the national-level laboratories under the National Applied Research Laboratories, Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters said. The Taipei City Fire Department said the fire, which broke out at about 11am yesterday near the mountainous Xiaoyoukeng (小油坑) Recreation Area was extinguished at 4:32pm. It had initially dispatched 72 personnel in four command vehicles, 16
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