■ Politics
DPP to attend UN meeting
Democratic Progressive Party Department of International Affairs Director Winston Dang (陳重信) said yesterday that he and Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) would attend meetings held a UN Human Rights Council committee on behalf of Liberal International, an organization of liberal political parties from around the world. Dang said he and Yao would read a declaration of the organization's support for Taiwan joining the WHO. The declaration was posted on the council's Web site on Feb. 28, Dang said. Dang said he had also been invited to host a conference on human rights in Cuba. Conference attendees will include Cuban former political prisoner Osvaldo Alfonso Valdes and former Albanian president Rexhep Meidani.
■ Tourism
Wu unsure on timing
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday that he was not sure when Taiwan would open its doors to Chinese tourists for sightseeing visits, as the technical details still had to be worked out. Five rounds of negotiations on the technical details have been held with Chinese authorities, Wu told reporters at the Legislative Yuan before attending a meeting of the Home and Nations Committee to give a briefing on the MAC's operations. The two sides are preparing to hold another round of talks, Wu said, adding that it was impossible to speculate on when the details would be ironed out. Asked whether the negotiations would be completed before he steps down to take up his new post as the nation's top representative to the US, Wu said only that he hoped the matter would be concluded as soon as possible.
■ Law enforcement
Hou comments on firearms
National Police Agency Director-General Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday that he strongly supported police carrying handguns, provided the firearms were handled correctly. Hou made the remarks at a news conference held to declare the government's policy of enforcing the laws in a strict manner, after two separate attacks on police officers were reported in Tainan in the past week. On March 15, a traffic violator grabbed the handgun of a highway police officer while being questioned on an expressway, which he then used to shoot another motorist in a failed attempt to hijack the victim's car. The offender then hijacked another car with his companion and fled. The wounded motorist died of his injuries. A few days after the incident, an officer lost his gun to a man with a record of drug offenses after the man attacked him while he was performing an inquiry.
■ Sports
Mayor Hu courts Oh
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said yesterday that he would invite Sadaharu Oh, a Japan-based professional baseball manager of Chinese descent, to visit Taichung and serve as a spokesman for the international baseball tournament to be hosted in the city. Hu, who plans to leave for Japan tomorrow for a six-day visit, said that Oh had tentatively agreed to visit Taichung. Hu said he hoped to finalize arrangements during his trip to Japan. Oh, a former baseball star, now manages the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. The Baseball World Cup will be held in November at the new Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.
■ Medicine
Research fellow honored
An Academia Sinica research fellow has been awarded the post of honorary fellow at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology for his work developing the first biomedication for asthma. Chang Tse-wen (張子文), a member of the institution's Genomics Research Center, determined that immunoglobulin E (IgE) is the genetic pathogen for allergic diseases and started developing an anti-IgE medication, Xolair, which was subsequently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Xolair is the first treatment to address pathogens without side effects and Chang is developing a second-generation anti-allergic biomedication.
■ Telecoms
Companies face penalties
The National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday that Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile Co and Far Eastone must by March 31, reduce processing times for customer applications to switch to a new service provider , or face punishment. The commission had previously announced that the three companies would be fined after investigations indicated that they give priority to customers who wish to upgrade their mobile phone service but are inclined to delay handling applications to change provider. Currently, it takes between a week and nine days for these applications to be processed, which the commission deems a business strategy to prevent customers seeking new service providers. NCC spokesman Howard Shyr (石世豪) reiterated that the commission had determined delays in the processing of applications violated the Telecommunications Act (電信法).
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
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