Taipei prosecutors have dropped a case against an Australian who used an expletive against a residential community committee member — because they couldn’t find a specific translation for the word in an English-Chinese dictionary.
The incident occurred at about 10pm on May 1 at a building on Changrong Road in Sanchong City (三重市), Taipei County.
The community director, surnamed Wu (吳), turned up with a locksmith, surnamed Lu (盧), to replace a broken lock on the lobby door. When an Australian resident asked them what they were up to Wu, whose English is limited, said: “Nothing.”
The Australian reportedly shouted back: “Don’t fucken lie to me. I’ll get the police.”
Wu felt the Australian had slandered him by using an expletive.
When questioned, the Australian admitted to saying “fucken,” explaining that he had been suspicious of the pair and had used the word as a linguistic device to make his point more forcibly.
He said he was suspicious when Wu said they were doing “nothing,” because they were clearly doing something to the lock on the door. However, the Australian denied the word was meant as an insult.
When prosecutors checked an English-Chinese dictionary for “fucken,” they discovered that there was no Chinese translation.
While the word sounded like “fuck,” the Australian only admitted to saying “fucken.” Although it could be considered foul language, prosecutors felt there was insufficient reason to consider its use slander or defamation, so the charges were dropped.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
Starting next month, people who signed up for the TPass 2.0 program can receive a 15 percent rebate for trips on mid to long-distance freeway buses or on buses headed to the east coast twice every month, the Highway Bureau said. Bureau Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said the government started TPass 2.0 to offer rebates to frequent riders of public transportation, or people who use city buses, highway buses, trains or MRTs at least 11 times per month. As of Nov. 12, 265,000 people have registered for TPass 2.0, and about 16.56 million trips between February and September qualified for
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
RSS