NATIONAL DEFENSE
Conscription rule tightened
The Ministry of the Interior yesterday said that men who are obliged to serve in the military can no longer delay their service by claiming to be studying after the age of 28. The Regulation on Exemption, Banned and Postponed Enlistment (免役禁役緩徵實施辦法) has been revised to tackle the issue of men, especially some well-known entertainers, who postpone their military service by frequently transferring to different schools. The ministry decided to add the provision that those who study in institutions below college level should not be older than 28 when they ask for a delay of conscription. However, this rule will not apply to those who study in regular schools and graduate institutions, the ministry said. The issue became a topic of debate earlier this year when actor Matthew Lin (明道), 31, registered at his fifth college in 11 years to delay military service, which many male entertainers consider a “career killer.”
EDUCATION
Relationship rule clarified
The Ministry of Education on Wednesday clarified again that it did not officially ban amorous relationships between teachers and students. The clarification came after media reports that the ministry officially demanded educational institutions of all levels to make it clear that teacher-student relationships were banned whenever they revised contracts with teachers. Concern over the ministry’s alleged decision was voiced in editorials and by academics, who argued that personal relationships are private and a person’s free will should not be impinged upon by the authorities.
CRIME
Reporter freed on bail
Tao Huan-chang (陶煥昌), a reporter with the Chinese-language United Evening News, was released on NT$300,000 bail yesterday morning after being questioned by prosecutors on suspicion of insider trading activities that had allegedly netted NT$800 million (US$26.5 million) in illicit profits. The court also granted the prosecutors’ request to detain Tao’s brother in the case. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office said Tao Huan-chang was suspected of violating the Securities Exchange Act (證券交易法) by forming an insider trading ring that included actor-turned--restaurateur Shao Hsin (邵昕), former Chinese Television System anchor Chen Hsin-hung (陳信宏) and Tao’s two brothers. Tao used his own bank accounts and dummy accounts to engage in illegal trading of stocks, which brought in about NT$800 million in profits, prosecutors said. Tao and his elder brother reported to the prosecutors on Wednesday evening for questioning. The Taos said they had been used and did not know the details of the alleged scam.
CULTURE
Aboriginal exhibition opens
The Taiwan Centennial Indigenous Industry opens today in Taipei and runs through Monday, Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Sun Ta-chuan (孫大川) said yesterday. The event will feature 180 booths run by members of the nation’s 14 Aboriginal tribes selling traditional specialties, handicrafts and other creative items, Sun said. There will also be 18 performances. The expo was designed to help Aborigines find a way to develop a culture--oriented economy, “so that we would know what we could pass on to our children and grandchildren in the next 50 or 100 years,” Sun said. For details about the expo, visit www.tciie.tw.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS