■DEFENSE
Ma consoles Ting family
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) traveled to Hualien yesterday to pay his respects to fighter pilot Major Ting Shih-pao (丁世寶), who disappeared during a routine training flight in waters off the coast of the eastern county in early March. Ting’s body and the F-16A Fighting Falcon jet he was flying were never recovered despite an extensive search by the Coast Guard and the Ministry of National Defense, which dispatched several helicopters, aircraft, patrol ships and naval vessels to comb the area for days. Ma consoled Ting’s family members and presented a medal of honor for the lost pilot. Ma also promoted Ting to the rank of lieutenant colonel posthumously. Officials believe that the 34-year-old Ting, who had a total of more than 1,200 hours of flight time, lost his bearings during the training flight and crashed into the sea.
■CRIME
Police hunt for naked rider
Tainan police were looking for a man who rode his motorbike naked through the city’s main streets for one hour on Monday, local TV reports said yesterday. The man, aged between 30 and 40, wore only a helmet as he drove around in a light drizzle caused by Typhoon Jangmi, local cable TV stations TVBS and ETTV reported. Although most people stayed home because of the typhoon, many still saw the naked motorist and took photos with their phone cameras, the TV reports said, broadcasting a video clip that showed the man riding a motorbike and sometimes honking his horn. Police suspect the man is an exhibitionist and plan to charge him with public indecency, the TV reports said.
■CRIME
MOFA warns on Somalia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday cautioned Taiwanese fishermen to stay away from the waters around Somalia after an Ukranian boat was seized by pirates in the region recently. The ministry said that despite the high security risk, many Taiwanese fishermen were attracted to Somalia and its surrounding region because of its fertile tuna hunting ground. A Taiwanese vessel was hijacked by Somalian pirates in November and was held for six months, ending with the payment of a high ransom. One Taiwanese crew member was killed during the ordeal.
■CRIME
Former envoy charged
The Control Yuan yesterday charged George Liu (劉寬平), the nation’s former representative to Switzerland, with dereliction of duty for delaying the delivery of a letter on an alleged money-laundering case involving the former first family. Control Yuan member Chao Jung-yao (趙榮耀) said that Liu’s office held the letter, in which the Federal Department of Justice and Police of the Swiss Confederation requested assistance from Taiwan in July to check the bank accounts of the son and daughter-in-law of former president Chen Shu-bian (陳水扁), for more than one week before sending it to Taipei via ordinary mail rather than sending an urgent telegram. The Swiss authorities were alerted by Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) earlier this year when the bank suspected Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and his wife Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚) of money laundering. “Liu had served as a legislator for three years before taking up the position in Switzerland ... He should have been very sensitive in this case,” Chao said. “His handlings were very inappropriate as it was not about the former president, but also the reputation of the Republic of China.”
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
Taipei resident Mu Chu-hua caught some glimpses of China’s mighty military parade on YouTube on Wednesday. As she watched hypersonic missiles roll down Beijing’s Changan Avenue and troops march in lockstep, she did not feel like they posed a threat to Taiwan. Mu, a 69-year-old retiree, said she saw the parade as simply a way for Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to “say thank you to the troops.” “I thought it was quite normal,” she said. “It was very cool.” China’s military parade commemorating the end of World War II was being watched internationally for insights into Beijing’s military advances and its show
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