POLITICS
Chen hopes to attend dinner
Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is on medical parole from Taichung Prison, on Monday submitted a formal application to the prison seeking permission to attend a dinner to be held by the Ketagalan Foundation on Saturday. The dinner is to be held in honor of Chen, a founding member, on the foundation’s 11th anniversary. Chen expressed his desire to attend the event when the prison sent officials to visit him at his home in Kaohsiung on Friday. At the prison’s request, the former president filled out an application and submitted it to the prison, said Janice Chen (陳昭姿), his medical team’s spokeswoman. Taichung Prison deputy warden Su Kun-ming (蘇坤銘) said the prison had received Chen’s faxed application and would begin to review his request upon receipt of the original document. Chen, who was in office from 2000 to 2008, had served more than six years of a 20-year prison term on several convictions for corruption before he was released on medical parole in January last year.
CONSUMER
No time limit on discounts
The four major convenience store chains will no longer set a deadline for consumers to claim pre-paid coffee or tea drinks, the Consumer Protection Committee said yesterday. The four chains frequently offer discount schemes for consumers who buy two cups of coffee or tea at once, with the option of claiming the second cup within a given period. However, consumers had complained that the deadline — such as only one week — was too short. The committee said it urged the companies to uphold the principles of equality and mutual benefit, and the four agreed to cancel the time limit.
CRIME
Wong’s travel ban eased
Prosecutors on Monday agreed to temporarily lift an overseas travel ban on former Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠), who is planning to take part in an annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology from Friday to Tuesday next week in Chicago. The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office permitted Wong to leave the country from today to Wednesday next week on the condition that he post a bond of NT$2 million (US$61,293). Wong is under investigation for insider trading allegations involving OBI Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company based in Taipei. Prosecutors barred him from leaving the country after summoning him for questioning last month.
HEALTH
Enterovirus infections surge
A total of 20,776 patients sought outpatient or emergency treatment at hospitals for enterovirus infections across the nation last week, up 7.1 percent from the previous week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center director Liu Ting-ping (劉定萍) said enterovirus cases in Taiwan have increased at a slower pace over the past two weeks, with the coxsackie A virus remaining the dominant virus strain circulating around the nation. In terms of the most severe enterovirus 71 (EV71) strain, a total of 45 cases have been confirmed so far this year, including three with severe complications, the CDC said. EV71 is a common cause of hand, foot and mouth disease among infants and children and is associated with fatal neurological illness. The CDC said the current enterovirus epidemic would peak in the middle or late this month.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
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