■ INVESTMENT
Security worries DPP
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday called on the government not to open to Chinese investment, saying it would jeopardize national security. Former Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) chairman Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌) said at a DPP caucus press conference that Taiwan was not short on capital, but did need more cutting-edge technology. “Taiwan welcomes direct foreign investment because it can bring cutting-edge technology to the country. However, does China lead Taiwan in technology? No. And so it is not necessary to open to Chinese investment,” Hong said. The government should refrain from promoting such an immature policy until voters have reached a consensus on opening to Chinese capital, Hong added.
■ FISHERIES
Chinese official to visit
China’s top fisheries administrator will lead a delegation to Taiwan next month for talks on cooperation in the fishing industry, Council of Agriculture Fisheries Administration Director Sha Chih-yi (沙志一) said during a fact-finding visit to Kinmen on Monday. As Kinmen lies closer to China’s Fujian Province than to Taiwan proper, there have been frequent reports of Chinese fishing boats intruding into Kinmen’s waters. Sha said he was concerned about Kinmen’s fishery environment, as Chinese poachers often use illegal fishing methods, such as electrofishing and dynamite, to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. Such illegal practices can be extremely destructive to the surrounding ecosystem, as electric currents or explosions often destroy the underlying habitats, such as coral reefs, that support the fish. Sha said fishery issues would also be put on the agenda for the fourth round of cross-strait talks scheduled for later this year.
■ CRIME
Alleged crime lord arrested
The alleged mastermind of a drug trafficking ring suspected of using young women to transport contraband has been arrested, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) announced on Monday. The suspect, identified only by his surname, Liu (劉), was arrested on Sunday in Keelung on charges of having smuggled at least 8kg of high-grade heroin into Taiwan over the past two weeks alone, MJIB officials said. Liu’s capture followed the arrest of a 31-year-old woman on Thursday at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle 10 heroin bricks weighing a total of 3.5kg into the country from Myanmar, the officials said. Since direct flights between Taiwan and Yangon were launched last year, MJIB agents said the four weekly Taipei-Yangon flights have become a new drug trafficking route. After three drug trafficking mules were apprehended over the past six months, the smugglers changed tactics by hiring young and pretty married women with children to serve as mules, officials said.
■ CRIME
Prison guards indicted
Prosecutors yesterday indicted 49 people, including 15 former and current prison guards, on bribery charges. Prosecutors are seeking jail terms of between 12 and 26 years for the guards at Tucheng Detention Center for blackmailing detainees and taking bribes from them in return for favors, according to the indictment. The guards accepted bribes of up to NT$10,000 to smuggle prohibited items for detainees, such as cigarettes, alcohol, pornography and MP3 players, the indictment said. The other people indicted included detainees and their relatives and friends.
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
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
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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