CRIME
Stabbing suspect detained
The Taipei District Court late on Tuesday ordered that Chang Yen-wen (張彥文), suspected of killing his girlfriend on Monday morning, be detained and held incommunicado. The 29-year-old Chang, an auditor with an accounting firm, is accused of killing his 22-year-old ex-girlfriend surnamed Lin (林) by stabbing her 41 times with a kitchen knife, on a street in Taipei’s Songshang District (松山) after she insisted on breaking up with him. Forensic examiners said Lin’s neck was almost severed from her body. Police previously said Chang admitted to stabbing Lin and expressed remorse and willingness to face the legal consequences. Police are investigating the case as possible premeditated murder, saying that Chang reportedly made inquiries online about different knives and went to a supermarket to buy a kitchen knife before going to see Lin.
SOCIETY
Rescued fisherman arrives
A fisherman from the Philippines who was rescued by Coast Guard Administration personnel earlier this month arrived in Greater Kaohsiung on Monday. A coast guard supply ship found Edralin Sabilisima drifting in his powerless boat about 635 nautical miles (1,176km) south of Greater Kaohsiung, coast guard officials said. Sabilisima, aged between 30 and 40, was dehydrated and had not eaten for three days when found. He told his rescuers that he had been adrift for nine days, surviving on fish and rainfall. The ship, which was bound for Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), took him to Itu Aba, where he was treated by a doctor on Sept. 16, the officials said. Sabilisima said he comes from the Babuyan Islands, a group of islands to the north of Luzon. He has been put in contact with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
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