DEFENSE
F-16 hit utility pole: witness
A resident of Sincheng Township (新城), Hualien County, yesterday said an F-16 hit a utility pole while coming in to land, damaging the top of the pole and several overhead cables. Kao Shang-ming (高尚明) said he heard the sound of a very loud engine overhead at about 9am and saw that some cables had fallen to the ground immediately after the jet passed, adding that the aircraft was flying lower than usual on its final approach to the airbase. The top of the pole was found later to have been bent 90? toward the runway and the overhead power lines it supported were on the ground. Chen Hua-jin (陳華進), an air force official, confirmed that a routine flight had taken place that morning and an initial investigation of the aircraft dispatched that morning found that the landing gear of one of the jets showed visible marks that could have been the result of a collision.
CRIME
Customs officials questioned
Former Keelung Customs Office deputy director Chang Liang-chang (張良章) and several customs officials were questioned by investigators yesterday over their involvement in a customs bribery scandal. Taipei prosecutors led investigators in a raid of 13 locations nationwide, including four customs offices. Chang, who retired after he became a target of the investigation last month, along with five customs officials, were summoned for questioning. Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office spokesperson Wang Wen-te (王文德) said the officials could be released on bail or a request could be made for their detention. Wang said investigators suspected the officials had requested bribes from companies in exchange for allowing them to import restricted or banned items.
HEALTH
Insurance to end for debtors
Almost 200,000 Taiwanese who can afford to pay their national health insurance fees, but have failed to do so, will soon not be able to use their insurance card and enjoy the system’s medical services, the Bureau of National Health Insurance said. The bureau said it implemented more flexible repayment terms last year to help people in financial difficulty to pay their insurance fees. For example, the option to pay in installments — previously reserved only for those who owe NT$5,000 or more — was expanded in August last year to include people who owe as little as NT$2,000, while the minimum monthly installment amount was decreased from NT$1,000 to NT$749. A total of 14,013 people applied for the new payment plan once it was launched, a bureau official said.
DIPLOMACY
California mayor to visit
A delegation led by Monterey Park City Mayor Betty Tom Chu left for Taiwan on Tuesday as part of the Californian city’s — the first in the US to have a population majority that is Asian — efforts to establish a zone to sell Taiwanese delicacies. Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) first pitched the idea of a Taiwanese delicacy zone in Los Angeles County, California, while visiting the US in May to solicit investment in Taiwan. Chu said if a Taiwanese delicacy zone were set up in the city, it would create an influx of visitors that could boost the area’s economic growth. During Chu’s four-day stay, she plans to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, the CEPD and Monterey Park’s sister city — Yonghe District (永和) in New Taipei City (新北市).
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
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
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody
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