CRIME
Heroin seized at airport
About 2.2kg of heroin was found in an imported hot dog machine at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday, the Aviation Police Bureau and Customs Administration said yesterday. The heroin, worth more than NT$10 million (US$324,717), was in six bags in the package, authorities said. Police would not reveal the origin of the package. Police tracked down the recipient of the package, a man surnamed Wu (吳), in Kaohsiung. Wu has been referred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office in terms of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
DIPLOMACY
Suspects going to China
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed regret at a plan by Spain to deport a group of Taiwanese telecom fraud suspects to China. In a Cabinet meeting on Friday, the Spanish government accepted Beijing’s request to extradite 269 Taiwanese and Chinese arrested in Spain for their suspected involvement in telecom fraud, the ministry said. The decision has infringed upon the rights of the Taiwanese suspects and defies the European tradition of humanism, the ministry said. The suspects were arrested in December last year in a joint operation between Spain and China, and more than 200 of the 269 suspects are Taiwanese, the ministry said. The government has been negotiating with Spain in the past two months in the hope that the Taiwanese suspects could be extradited to Taiwan, but Spain did not reply to the request, the ministry said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Lantern festival to stay lit
Yunlin County’s Beigang Township (北港) lantern display is to continue until April 19, despite the end of the 2017 Taiwan Lantern Festival today, Beigang Township Mayor Chang Sheng-chih (張勝智) said yesterday. The county government decided that all lanterns on display in Beigang will be preserved, Chang said, adding that extending the display will allow visitors to take part in annual events celebrating the birthday of the sea goddess Matsu at Beigang’s Chaotian Temple. Matsu’s birthday falls on April 19 this year. This year’s lantern festival was held in two areas in Yunlin — at the main venue in Huwei Township (虎尾) from Sunday last week to today and in Beigang from Feb. 7 to today. The county government said that the lantern display in Huwei could be extended due to contract restrictions and a workforce shortage.
CRIME
Suspected fraudsters nabbed
Eight suspects were arrested in connection with alleged telecom fraud in which a Chinese professor was swindled out of more than 18 million yuan (US$2.62 million), Taichung police said on Thursday. Police said the 54-year-old professor, identified only by her surname, Huang (黃), was targeted by the suspects in July last year. The alleged mastermind behind the group, surnamed Liu (劉), and his accomplices posed as the prosecutor-general of the Chinese Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the highest national agency responsible for investigation and prosecution in China. Police said some of the money was withdrawn using ATMs in Taiwan, while the remainder was transferred online, with the address linked to Taiwan. China solicited Taiwan’s assistance in tracking down the fraud ring in accordance with a cross-strait agreement on judicial assistance and combating crime.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
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