■ DIPLOMACY
US supports Taiwan: AIT
The US will continue to support Taiwan in its quest for international space and dignity, American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young quoted US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as saying during a reception yesterday to celebrate US Independence Day today. Young lauded Taiwan’s democratic development and said the coming year should see a strengthening of economic cooperation between Taiwan and the US, including productive Trade and Investment Framework Agreement talks in Taipei. He said Washington will continue to place high importance on providing Taipei “the confidence and means necessary to guarantee its own security.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊), Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) and National Security Council Security-General Su Chi (蘇起) attended the reception.
■TRANSPORTATION
TRTC marks gondola record
The Maokong Gondola is celebrating a new ridership record of 5 million today at the gondola’s Taipei Zoo station with a music concert at 6pm. The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said it would give out 6,000 mugs to passengers at 9am at the Taipei Zoo station. It will also issue souvenir Easy Cards at that station, MRT Taipei Main Station and MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. The gondola system was launched last July, and has become one of the most popular attractions in the city. The 4km-long cable car system, which cost more than NT$1.3 billion (US$39.28 million), is the only one in the country that travels in a mountainous region along its entire route.
■CRIME
Toy plane crash sparks fire
A Taipei County man was arrested yesterday after his remote controlled model plane crashed into a high rise residential building in Sindian (新店) around 8am, causing a fire and six injuries, police said. The plane hit the 28th floor of the building, forcing the evacuation of 79 people. The fire was contained in 35 minutes, the local fire department said. Six people who sustained smoke inhalation injuries were taken to local hospitals and are now reportedly in stable condition. The suspect, surnamed Hsieh, was reportedly controlling the airplane from a riverside park about 500m away from the building. He was arrested for endangering the public.
■CRIME
Taiwanese convict returning
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday that Panama is repatriating a Taiwanese freighter captain convicted of manslaughter who was imprisoned in that country. Duanmu Wei-kai (端木惟鍇) is expected to return to Taiwan today. Duanmu was captain of the Panama-registered vessel HV Well Pescadores bound for Houston, Texas, when he abandoned two Dominican men at sea in 1993. He was tried and sentenced to 19 years and three months in 1995. The ministry said it had been negotiating with Panama for five years to secure his repatriation. Panama agreed to repatriate Duanmu on humanitarian concerns, the ministry said.
■CRIME
Corpse story confirmed
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) confirmed yesterday that police in Mauritius found two frozen corpses on a Taiwanese fishing boat on Sunday. Chen said the boat belonged to its Taiwanese captain and that one of the dead sailors was Chinese and the other Indonesian. He did not identify the captain, who is being detained along with three Taiwanese crewmembers by Mauritian police.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country. Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758. The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia. The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting
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