Taiwanese police yesterday warned against publicly circulating nude pictures of a Hong Kong actor and his actress girlfriends, saying that violators could be jailed for two years.
"Circulating obscene pictures and products are subject to punishment of up to two years in jail and a fine of up to NT$30,000," a police spokesman said.
He was referring to the publication of photos on the Internet of Hong Kong singer-actor Edison Chen (
The photos, apparently taken by Chen, show him and his girlfriends in various sexual positions. There was also video footage of Chen that was allegedly posted by the suspect, the officer said.
In related news, results of a survey released yesterday by the Business Software Alliance's Taiwan branch suggested that many are unaware of the legality or safety of downloaded items.
The survey conducted among 440 youths aged 13 to 24 revealed that 42 percent of respondents go online every day and 85.4 percent usually stay online for more than one hour each time.
It was found that 79.8 percent of respondents have had experience downloading Internet material.
Of these respondents, 74.9 percent have obtained music, 64.1 percent have gotten games, 58.4 percent have downloaded photos, 40.2 percent have downloaded computer software, 30.5 percent have downloaded movies and 16.8 percent have obtained online comic or fiction literature -- all free of charge.
The results showed that 40.2 percent of respondents have no idea if the material they have downloaded is legal or illegal, and 54.7 percent have seen their computers suffer a viral attack after a download.
Meanwhile, 64.7 percent of respondents will share the downloaded information with classmates or friends, and 68.8 percent have received less than four lessons on cyber safety or cyber ethics in one semester.
The survey was conducted from Feb. 1 to Feb. 5 by National Chengchi University's Marketing Survey Research Center for BSA-Taiwan. It has a margin of error of 3.9 percent.
For the latest on Edison Chen, see Pop Stop on page 14.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are