■CRIME
Police set up ‘forum’
The National Police Agency has set up a special “civic forum” corner on its Web site, www.npa.gov.tw, on which members of the public are encouraged to leave comments about the performance of police officers, a spokesman for the agency said on Tuesday. A recent survey conducted by the Ministry of the Interior indicated that among the 10 most common complaints by the public, several are related to public safety and police work, rampant telephone and Internet scams, the high number of traffic tickets issued and illegal occupation of pathways. He said the forum was different from the 110 police service telephone number and that reports of suspected criminal activities should be made by calling 110 rather than by posting them on the Web site.
■TOURISM
Amphibious tours delayed
The launch date of amphibious vehicle tours in Kaohsiung has been put back to March, a city official said on Tuesday. The postponement has been made to allow more time for test runs of the vehicle to ensure passenger safety, said Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材), director-general of the city’s Transportation Bureau. The city government had originally planned to begin test runs early this month and to officially launch the service in January. Under a new plan, the first phase of the test runs will run from Dec. 20 to Jan. 21, during which water tours will be provided to social welfare and tour groups interested in trying the service, Wang said. In the second phase, which will run from Jan. 22 to Feb. 28, free tickets will be offered to tourists staying in Kaohsiung hotels. The tours will start and finish at the Hanshin Arena shopping mall, the spokesman said. Ticket prices for the 60 minute tours will be NT$300 for adults and NT$150 for children.
■CRIME
Wig-snatcher indicted again
A supporter of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was charged with defamation after pulling off a lawmaker’s toupee and then boasting about the incident on his name cards, an official said on Tuesday. The public prosecutor in Tainan City issued the indictment on Monday against Huang Yung-tien (黃永田), of the Democratic Progressive Party, who last year snatched the toupee off the head of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅). Huang printed a photo of himself snatching the toupee on name cards he used when running for city councilor in Tainan in April, leading to an indictment for defamation, a spokeswoman for the local prosecutors’ office said. Huang was sentenced to five months in jail in October for the actual act of grabbing the wig. He claimed it was a mistake.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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