CRIME
Drunk driving fines increase
Heftier penalties for drunk driving, with the maximum fine to be raised from NT$60,000 (US$2,027) to NT$90,000, are set to come into effect today, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The ministry said it hopes the increased penalties will curb drunken driving and raise public awareness about road safety. A total of 371 people were killed in drunken driving incidents last year, a 15 percent year-on-year decline, which signaled increasing public vigilance against driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the ministry. Individuals found guilty of drunken driving twice or more over a period of five years, and those who refuse to take a breathalyzer test, will be subject to the maximum fine.
diplomacy
DPP finds US office space
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has chosen office space in Washington for its representative office to the US, which the party hopes will help build mutual trust between the party and the US government. The office on 16th Street Northwest, about 200m from the White House, will likely be officially opened in late May or early June, when DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) is expected to visit the US, DPP representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said. It is necessary for the DPP to reopen an office in Washington to avoid future misunderstandings, Wu said. The party has not had an official mission in the US since it lost power after the presidential election in March 2008. Wu was appointed representative to Washington in November last year, shortly after the US presidential election. He is still based in Taipei and visits the US once every two to three months.
ENVIRONMENT
Taiwan to join blackout
Taiwan will participate in an international “Earth Hour” campaign this month, with landmarks including the Taipei 101 skyscraper pledging to switch its lights off in observance of the event that is aimed at raising environmental awareness, organizers said yesterday. Now in its fourth year in partnership with the WWF, which initiated the program, the Taiwan-based Society of Wilderness said many local governments and businesses have pledged to show support by turning off their lights for an hour. Taiwan is one of more than 150 countries around the world expected to take part in the “Earth Hour” campaign, which will take place from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, on March 23.
SOCIETY
Museums to share know-how
The head of retail at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London is to visit Taiwan to share the museum’s experience in developing and marketing exhibition merchandise, Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) said. Jo Prosser will arrive in Taiwan in two weeks for exchanges with museum curators from around the country, Lung said toward the end of a 10-day cultural visit to the UK and France. Speaking of another opportunity for Taiwan-UK cultural partnership that her visit created, Lung said UK Trade and Investment, a government department working with UK businesses to ensure their success in international markets, broached with her the idea of jointly setting up a fund to finance artists and micro-entrepreneurs in the creative industry. Lung said it is her ministry’s core responsibility to foster ties with other countries using cultural exchanges at a time when the nation is working hard to expand its international standing.
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.
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
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