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.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
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