DISASTER
Taiwanese among the dead
A Taiwanese expatriate living in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, has been identified as one of the victims claimed by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Taipei-based Association of East Asian Relations said on Wednesday. Huang Ming-lang (黃明朗), the secretary-general of the organization established to handle Taiwan-Japan exchanges in the absence of diplomatic ties, said the Taiwanese victim was only identified by her surname, Lee (李), citing information provided by Taiwan’s representative office in Japan. The 81-year-old woman was married to a doctor surnamed Chang (張). However, as of Wednesday evening, no details had been released on how long she had lived in Japan, or how she ended up taking residency there. Her daughter, who lives in Tokyo, went to Miyagi to identify the body. She handled the cremation of her mother’s remains late on Wednesday, Huang said. The daughter has asked the office to help deliver her mother’s ashes to Taiwan.
HEALTH
Mail from Japan to be tested
Mail and parcels from Tokyo are now required to undergo inspection for radiation levels both in Japan and Taiwan and will be intercepted if the inspections reveal abnormal readings, Taiwan’s state postal company said yesterday. According to Chunghwa Post Co president Hu Hsueh-yun (胡雪雲), his company was notified by Japan’s postal authorities on Sunday that all mail and parcels in Tokyo had to pass a radiation inspection. To be extra cautious, the company began to inspect the radiation levels in mail and parcels from Japan on Tuesday, Hu said, adding that no abnormalities have been detected. Hu said the company would make sure that no radiation-contaminated mail or parcels are delivered.
JUSTICE
Executions to continue: Ma
Taiwan will continue to carry out executions of death row inmates as the country’s laws mandate, but the government has worked toward reducing the use of capital punishment, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday. The government’s policy, he said, is to phase out the use of capital punishment through existing laws and regulations. However, death-penalty convictions should still be carried out in accordance with the law. His remarks came after Beverley Wakem, president of the International Ombudsman Institute, said at a Control Yuan seminar that some countries were violating human rights by implementing the death penalty. Ma reiterated that Taiwan was dedicated to human rights protection. Taiwan resumed executions in April last year, ending an unofficial moratorium that had existed since 2005. Earlier this month, the government carried out five executions, drawing protests from the EU and human rights groups. There are still 41 prisoners awaiting execution in the country’s penal system.
TRAVEL
US fines Taiwan passenger
A Taiwanese passenger carrying bottles of cough syrup was stopped and fined by a customs officer at a US airport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. It turned out that the syrup contained opium, and was therefore deemed illegal by the customs security agents, Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), director-general of the ministry’s Department of North American Affairs, told reporters at a regular press briefing. The bottles were confiscated and the passenger was fined US$500, Linghu said. Travelers are urged to check with relevant authorities for restricted and prohibited items before traveling, Linghu said.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
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