■ WEATHER
Nation gets first snowfall
PHOTO: CENTRAL WEATHER BUREAU
Visitors to Yushan (玉山) yesterday afternoon had a half-hour glimpse of the nation's first snowfall this winter. The Central Weather Bureau said the snowfall began at about 2:05pm and ended at 2:35pm. The depth of snow was less than 1cm. The temperature yesterday morning hit minus 3oC. At 3:30pm, however, the temperature rose slightly to minus 1oC. The bureau said the snowfall was brought by the accumulation of humidity and the arrival of a cold front. It said the weather would become drier once the frontal system had left Taiwan, with lower chances of snow.
■ CRIME
Smuggled cigarettes seized
Kaohsiung Port police seized more than 500 cases of smuggled foreign cigarettes, including some rare brands, aboard a local fishing boat at Kaohsiung Port on Sunday, police said yesterday. Police detained the ship captain and four crew members for questioning after discovering that the fishing gear on the boat had not been used during their 20-day fishing journey, police said. The captain, surnamed Tsai (蔡), claimed that all the fish caught over the past 20 days had been sold before they returned home. However, he could not say who the fish had been sold to or where the cigarettes had come from, police said, adding that they were still investigating.
■ CRIME
High Court rejects appeal
The Taiwan High Court yesterday rejected a request by Taipei prosecutors that a former agent of the Investigation Bureau arrested last Tuesday for allegedly sending threatening mail to the first family and a number of legislators and government officials be detained. The Taipei District Court on Friday rejected the request against Yang Ching-hai (楊清海) and released him on NT$100,000 bail. Taipei prosecutors immediately appealed the case, but the high court yesterday turned down the appeal. Yang was arrested last Tuesday at his residence in Taipei County, where police also found two pistols and 45 bullets. Police said Yang had sent a postcard threatening to sexually assault President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) daughter and to kidnap his grandsons.
■ EDUCATION
Fu Jen receives big donation
The Department of Chemistry at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei County received a donation of US$1.5 million from alumni earlier this month, the biggest donation ever made by alumni to any privately run university in Taiwan. Hsu Wen-hsien (許文賢), director of the university's Department of Chemistry, expressed his appreciation to the donors -- several Fu Jen alumni who preferred to remain anonymous -- and said the donation would be used to finance a foundation for the development of the department. Hsu said the interest from the donation would be used toward scholarships and to meet the costs of improving the department's teaching materials and research facilities. He said that his department has already received US$300,000 of the donation, which will be paid over five years.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS