■ AVIATION
Joke bomber repatriated
A man who forced a China Airlines (CAL) passenger plane to conduct an emergency landing in China after he claimed to be carrying explosives on board was repatriated to Taiwan yesterday and will face possible judicial punishment. Lin Nan-hai (林南海) was reported to have told cabin crew during a flight on Saturday to Shanghai from Taipei that he had explosives in his luggage. Out of safety concerns, the captain immediately diverted the plane to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. No explosives were found. Lin was arrested and detained by Hangzhou police after he told them he had made the comment as a joke, but Taiwan holds jurisdiction over the case. Prosecutors in Taoyuan County have launched an investigation into Lin’s alleged violation of the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法). If Lin is found guilty of spreading false information jeopardizing aviation safety, he will face up to three years in prison, prosecutors said.
■ SERVICES
Post offices to accept FedEx
It is now possible to drop off FedEx mail or packages at post offices, Chunghwa Post (中華郵政) announced yesterday. The nation’s largest postal service yesterday said it has formed a strategic alliance with the US-based fast delivery firm. Between now and July 1, 74 designated post offices nationwide will start taking mails or packages to be sent via FedEx, it said. After July 1, the service will be available at approximately 1,000 post offices nationwide, it said. Chunghwa Post said people need to pay for the delivery cost at the post office before they can drop off the package. Credit card payment will not be accepted. Aside from post offices, people can drop off their packages at Eslite Bookstores, Kodak stores, and FedEx’s own retail stores, it said.
■ POLITICS
Chinese delegation arrives
A 2,000-strong delegation from Fujian Province led by governor Huang Xiaojing (黃小晶) arrived in Taipei yesterday for a six-day visit. The delegation — one of the biggest from any Chinese province or city — is also expected to visit Tainan and Kaohsiung cities. No senior Chinese official has visited either of the two cities since vice chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) was involved in a scuffle with pro-independence protesters in Tainan in 2008, media reports said. The delegation will also visit the Industrial Technology Research Institute and several leading enterprises, including Formosa Plastics Group and AU Optronics Corp. At a welcoming party hosted by Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) in Taipei yesterday, Huang said he did not feel like a stranger at all in Taiwan, adding he hoped to see more Taiwanese visit Fujian.
■ POLITICS
KMT to nominate candidates
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said yesterday his party will complete the nomination of four candidates for the November special municipality elections on May 19, after a nomination screening committee meeting on Tuesday. The four candidates are Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for Taipei City, Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) for Sinbei City, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) for Greater Taichung, and KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) for Greater Kaohsiung.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
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