CRIME
Suspect commits suicide
The Kinmen County Police Department yesterday said a suspect in a robbery and kidnapping case had committed suicide. The suspect, surnamed Chen (陳), was wanted in connection to a robbery and kidnapping involving Kincheng Township (金城) representative council head Chen Tien-cheng (陳天成), police said. The suspect was found in Kinning Township (金寧) but refused to open the door when arrived. Officers said they heard a gunshot from inside the residence. Chen was taken to hospital, but the doctors pronounced him dead at 1:43pm yesterday. Police have already arrested two other suspects in connection with the case and two others are still at large.
Photo: Taipei Times
CRIME
Police uncover 4kg of drugs
Taitung County authorities have seized about 4kg of amphetamine, the largest haul of illegal drugs in 10 years in the county, Taitung police said on Thursday. Four people were arrested during a raid in May last year on suspicion of drug possession, Taitung County Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation deputy head Yu Cheng-ting (尤正廷) said. Although only 166.9g of amphetamines were seized in May, one suspect, surnamed Lin (林), said the remaining about 3kg had been sold. Prosecutor Teng Ting-chiang (鄧定強) said he was highly skeptical of Lin’s claim and asked the Taitung police to continue their investigation. After more than a year, Taitung and Taichung police finally found the stash in a Taichung neighborhood, where Lin rented a house, as well as a modified gun with three bullets, Yu said.
Transport
THSRC offers free rides
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) on Friday announced that it has expanded its partnership with EVA Air Corp to offer a free shuttle service to the high-speed railway station in Taoyuan. Travelers flying to Europe, Australia, New Zealand or North America on EVA Air and commuting on the high-speed rail from southern Taiwan will be eligible for a free return ticket to Taoyuan, the company said. The deal is reserved for passengers commuting from Kaohsiung, Tainan and Chiayi to Taoyuan and flying with EVA Air or China Airlines, which last month partnered with THSRC. EVA Air, UNI Airways Corp, China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines and China Eastern Airlines passengers can get a 20 percent discount on high-speed rail tickets, THSRC said.
GEOPOLITICS
Stephen Young slams China
Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director Stephen Young on Friday said Beijing has made a mistake by not reaching out to Taiwan. China’s attempt to bully President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) demonstrates a lack of foresight, Young said at a news conference after a Taiwan-US relations forum in Taipei. He said Tsai has many domestic challenges to face and will not change her focus because of Beijing. Beijing’s approach toward Taiwan and Hong Kong only make Taiwanese think that China is not trustworthy, he said. China’s proposed “one country, two systems” model for unification with Taiwan has been unsuccessful in Hong Kong, making it hard to win the trust of Taiwanese, Young said.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
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