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.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first