■ POLITICS
KMT expels Tainan speaker
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday revoked the party membership of Tainan County Council Speaker Wu Chien-bao (吳健保) following his indictment in a professional baseball match-fixing scandal. Banciao District prosecutors on Wednesday indicted 24 people for fixing games in exchange for money and sex. Prosecutors have also requested a nine-year prison sentence and a fine of NT$50 million (US$1.6 million) for Wu, accusing the council speaker of fraud and involvement in organized crime. “Wu's behavior has damaged the KMT’s reputation and violated party regulations. His membership should be revoked immediately,” KMT’s Disciplinary Committee said in a statement yesterday.
■ SOCIETY
AIT reports missing person
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) is asking the public to help locate a missing US citizen. According to AIT, 62-year-old Fu Duong Vuong (王補養) was last seen on Feb. 5 leaving a relative's home in Taipei City's Wenshan District (文山). She was wearing a light blue shirt, black pants, black shoes and carrying a red umbrella. Fu’s family said she has early stage Alzheimer's Disease and did not have any medication or money with her when she went missing. Anyone who has information on Fu can call the Taipei City Immigration unit at (02) 2389-2650 or report it to the local police station. For details, see www.ait.org.tw.
■ POLITICS
US' China policy 'changing'
The US government has adopted an increasingly tougher stance on its dealings with China, said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), who had just returned from a visit to the US. Hsieh said yesterday that many of the US lawmakers and academics he met during his visit said there had been “subtle” changes in Washington's China policy since US President Barack Obama's moderate and low-key approach toward China had not received a positive response from Beijing, as evidenced by its attitude on international issues such as the value of the Chinese currency and climate change. After being criticized as being “too weak,” the Obama administration has recently become tougher toward China, Hsieh said, citing Obama's approval late last month of an arms sales package to Taiwan and the possibility that he might meet with the Dalai Lama. “Subtle changes are taking place among the triangular Taipei-Washington-Beijing relations, and Taiwan should try to strike a strategic balance in the relationship to pursue its best interests,” Hsieh said.
■ CRIME
Pirates release trawler
Somali pirates yesterday freed a Taiwanese trawler they had used as a “mother ship” to attack other vessels during a 10-month ordeal that three crew did not survive, a maritime watchdog said. The Win Far 161, hijacked on April 6 last year near the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, was freed for a “relatively small ransom,” said a statement by Ecoterra International, an environmental NGO monitoring maritime activity in the region. The Win Far was the longest-running case of Somali piracy, with two Indonesians and one Chinese among the original crew of 30 dying during their last month of captivity, Ecoterra said. “The three died of malnutrition, disease and neglect over the course of the last month,” Ecoterra said, adding that the hostages’ respective authorities did not provide any assistance in attempts to facilitate humanitarian relief.
‘OBNOXIOUS MAN’: The KMT’s Chen Ching-hui moved into Chung Chia-pin’s path atop the podium and reached for him before he grabbed at her legs with both hands Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said he slipped and lost his balance, and did not know who was around him, after jumping onto the speaker’s podium at the legislature in Taipei. He apologized after a collision with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽), who moved to intercept him as he mounted the podium. There was pushing and shoving when the session started in the morning as KMT lawmakers attempted to block access to the podium to shield Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) so he could preside over the session. Video footage showed Chung step on a chair and
While it is common to see bumper stickers informing other drivers about important information, such as “baby on board” or “rookie driver,” some motorist in Taiwan are using creative statements to warn other drivers to keep a safe distance to avoid a collision. A photograph recently circulating on the Internet showed a van in Changhua City with a bumper sticker saying that the driver received their license after taking the test three times, so it is dangerous to drive close to the vehicle. The person who took the photograph said all vehicles behind the van appeared to “subconsciously” maintaining a safe distance. Some
Taipei police on Saturday arrested 24 female Thai tourists on suspicion of working as hostesses and engaging in illegal activities at an underground bar in Zhongshan District (中山), the distict’s police precinct said in a statement yesterday. The police also arrested five other people involved in the operation, including the 29-year-old bar owner surnamed Chiang (蔣), and 17 customers, the statement said. The 24 Thai women were fined an undisclosed amount in accordance with the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) by the police and transferred to a National Immigration Agency (NIA) special brigade in Taipei for repatriation to Thailand. The cases of
SHOW OF SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 508 guests from 51 delegations are expected to attend today’s inauguration ceremony in Taipei Delegations from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and other friendly countries have arrived in the nation to attend the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) and vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) today. From the presidential election on Jan. 13 until today, 687 foreign guests from 73 delegations have come to Taiwan to deliver congratulatory messages to the newly elected leaders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Among them, 508 guests from 51 delegations, including eight led by heads of state, are attending today’s inauguration ceremony and other related events, it added. Pope Francis appointed the Holy See’s Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Charles John Brown