BUSINESS
Fubon Multimedia fined
The Fair Trade Commission yesterday fined Fubon Multimedia Technology Co NT$100,000 for violating the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法) in its advertising of a Panasonic digital camera. Vice Commissioner Shih Hui-fen (施惠芬) said Fubon’s online shopping Web site claimed the Panasonic FX-580 digital camera came equipped with a function that allows users to readjust the focus during recording. An investigation found that the camera did not have this function. Shih said Fubon had a history of exaggerating the benefits of its products on the Momo channel and online shopping Web site, and had been fined four times this year for false advertising. The commission also ordered the company to immediately remove the misleading words and phrases from its online ads.
SPORTS
Wang Chien-ming returning
Washington Nationals pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民), who spent the entire Major League Baseball (MLB) season this year rehabilitating a shoulder injury, will return home today for the off-season. The 30-year-old right-hander is scheduled to arrive this morning and hold a press conference after his arrival. Wang, who has completed his one-year, US$2 million contract with the Nationals, is expected to stay in Taiwan for about two months before returning to the US for spring training. The former New York Yankee, now a free agent, did not appear in the regular season, but pitched two games in the instructional league last month. The Nationals’ management has said it plans to negotiate a new contract with his agent. The Tainan native made his MLB debut in 2005 with the Yankees, but was released by the team last year. He has a career record of 55 wins, 26 losses with a 4.16 ERA.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe