■Culture
Chao Ning dies at 66
Taiwanese writer Chao Ning (趙寧) died of gallbladder cancer at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, hospital officials said yesterday. The author of such works as Chao Ning’s US Study Journal and Drawing a Beautiful Circle for Your Life, Chao, 66, was admitted to the Veterans General hospital several months ago after an operation performed at another hospital failed to improve his condition. In June, he resigned as president of De Lin Institute of Technology in Taipei County, a post he had held since 2006. Wu Ching-wei (吳慶維), chief secretary of the institute, said Chao’s novel and easygoing style of administering the school had left a deep impression on students. Chao is survived by his wife, a daughter and two sons.
■Society
Brothel shut down
Authorities in Nantou County have turned off the red light at the county’s last legal brothel after the death of its 87-year-old owner, newspapers reported yesterday. Ai Le (愛樂) was the last legal brothel in Nantou and police revoked its permit because the 48-year-old business could not be transferred, the reports said. Prostitution has been illegal since 1997 and licensing of new brothels stopped in 1974, but isolated illegal brothels can be found all over the nation. Brothels licensed prior to 1974 were allowed to keep operating. The closure effectively leaves Ai Le’s two prostitutes, aged 40 and 50, jobless, the reports said. A photo in the newspaper showed Ai Le as a building with a pink flower-print facade, rimmed by a tattered roof.
■Society
English service halted
An “English teaching service” — messages broadcast by garbage trucks in Tainan City for the past few years — has been suspended for more than six months now, city officials said on Thursday in response to queries from curious residents. “The city government decided to temporarily suspend the service because it has so many other policies it needs to deliver to residents,” Environmental Protection Bureau chief Chang Huang-chen (張皇珍) said. As diseases such as dengue fever and enterovirus spread through the city last year and this year, the city decided to replace the trucks’ “English time” with city policy promotions in Vietnamese and Thai for the benefit of foreign spouses who do not understand Chinese. The city’s garbage trucks used to broadcast English teaching programs produced by its education department. Wang Shui-wen (王水文), the city’s education department head, said the English teaching services had not been permanently shelved, and the department planned to record more programs.
■Society
Mobile firm plans shuffle
The financially troubled First International Telecom Corp, the nation’s only mobile operator using PHS low-power systems, said yesterday it filed a corporate restructuring application with the Taipei District Court. Chairman Charlie Wu (吳清源) said in a stock exchange filing the company was asking the court to help protect its assets during the restructuring to protect the interests of clients, debtors, shareholders and employees. Once the court approves the application, First International Telecom said it would maintain normal operations while negotiating with major shareholders Shin Kong Group and FIH Global Inc on a possible capital injection. On Tuesday, First International Telecom bounced NT$86 milliion (US$2.7 million) in checks to creditor banks, suppliers and retailers.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
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
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
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