CRIME
Crackdown on drunk driving
The Ministry of Justice on Wednesday said it would propose an amendment to raise the penalty in cases of drunk driving that result in death to a maximum of seven years. The proposed revision comes amid public outcry over a recent incident in which a firefighter’s leg had to be amputated after she was hit by a drunk driver while assisting victims of a traffic accident in Taipei. The driver who hit her was arrested, but later released on bail. The penalty for non-fatal drunken driving is currently a maximum of one year in prison. The ministry is proposing that the maximum penalty in such cases be increased to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to NT$150,000, said Sung Kuo-yeh (宋國業), director-general of the Department of Prosecutorial Affairs. In cases that result in death, the ministry is proposing a term of one to seven years and a penalty of six months to five years in cases of serious injuries, Sung said.
MEDIA
Manga software developed
Newly developed software will give users a chance to instantly become cartoonists, as it automatically converts photographs into cartoon format. The software, called “Manga Director,” will make its debut at Academia Sinica tomorrow and be available for free public use through Facebook within three months, the developers said. Tu Yen-chen, one of the developers at Academia Sinica, said that users can load photographs into the software, which will then convert the pictures into cartoon images. The user can choose the best quality cartoons and add dialogue, thereby creating an e-comic book, Tu said. The software seeks to revolutionize the concept of photo albums and comic books, she said. “Manga Director” is one of the inventions being showcased at an open day tomorrow at Academia Sinica.
EDUCATION
Kids picky about lunch
A recent survey conducted by Public Television Service (PTS) on behalf of the Ministry of Education showed that the one dish that most elementary schoolchildren would like to see changed is eggs. Hsu Chieh-hui (許傑輝), a PTS host, said the children did not like to eat dishes made from bitter melons, cauliflowers or green peppers. While they like eggs, they want it to be made in another form besides braised or fried, New Taipei City (新北市) nutritionist Chuang Pei-ling (莊佩玲) said. Gong Guan Elementary School in Taipei has set a record by having all its students signed up to its on-campus lunch program. School principal Lee Chung-hui (李鍾慧) said about 40 new students who transferred to the school this year did so because of its popular lunches. The school’s chefs have been asked to develop new menu items such as vegetarian pizza, she added.
EMPLOYMENT
School fined for prejudice
The Dominican International School in Taipei was fined NT$600,000 (US$19,860) on Wednesday for violating the Employment Services Act (就業服務法) when it fired two of its staff for religious reasons, the first case of its kind in Taipei. Bureau of Labor Affairs Division Chief Huang Ai-chen (黃愛真) said two female teachers of the Mormon faith were dismissed from the Catholic-faith school. Although the school cited multiple errors made by the two teachers, the e-mail sent to them in March said: “We cannot renew ... your contract for the next school year due to your religion,” evidence that the school dismissed the teachers because of religious prejudice, Huang said. The school was unavailable for comment.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
Taiwanese singer Jay Chou (周杰倫) plans to take to the courts of the Australian Open for the first time as a competitor in the high-stakes 1 Point Slam. The Australian Open yesterday afternoon announced the news on its official Instagram account, welcoming Chou — who celebrates his 47th birthday on Sunday — to the star-studded lineup of the tournament’s signature warm-up event. “From being the King of Mandarin Pop filling stadiums with his music to being Kato from The Green Hornet and now shifting focus to being a dedicated tennis player — welcome @jaychou to the 1 Point Slam and #AusOpen,” the
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