■ MILITARY
US unveils missile mix-up
The US Defense Department yesterday announced that it had mistakenly shipped non-nuclear ballistic missile components to Taiwan from a US Air Force base in the state of Wyoming. It said the items have been returned to the US. At a Pentagon news conference, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the misshipped items were four nose cone assemblies for ballistic missiles. They were sent instead of helicopter batteries that had been ordered by Taiwan, he said. Wynne said the matter was under investigation.
■ HEALTH
Dengue fever cases emerge
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday confirmed four more cases of dengue fever infections that were contracted overseas. The latest cases involve a three-year-old boy who recently traveled to Indonesia with his family, two businessmen with operations in Indonesia and an Indonesian national working in Taiwan, CDC officials said. The cases brought the number of overseas dengue fever infections to 18 so far this year, compared with 14 cases recorded during the same period last year, the officials said. Of the 18 cases, nine were contracted in Indonesia, three each originated in Vietnam and the Philippines and one each was contracted in India and Malaysia. The origin of the remaining case was uncertain because the patient traveled to two different countries. Last year, Taiwan recorded 179 cases of dengue fever contracted overseas, with 55 originating in Vietnam and 48 in Indonesia, according to the CDC. CDC officials advised travelers to Southeast Asia to wear long-sleeved shirts and use anti-mosquito repellent.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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