GOVERNMENT
VP discharged after surgery
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) was yesterday discharged from Taipei Veterans General Hospital after undergoing surgery for a herniated disk on Sunday, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said. After seeking medical attention for acute lower back pain, Lai was found to have herniated disks in his spine, requiring an hour-long microsurgery, Chang said, adding that Lai expressed thanks to hospital staff and to the public for messages of support. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) wished him a speedy recovery.
PARKS
Plaque vandalism probed
A hiker could face a fine and be banned from climbing mountains in Hualien County’s Taroko National Park after he was seen holding an uprooted plaque marking the north peak of Chilai Mountain (奇萊山). On Sunday, images of the hiker appeared on social media showing him waving his middle finger at the camera and holding the plaque aloft after apparently ripping it out of the ground. If found liable for the damage, he could be ordered to pay compensation, fined NT$3,000 and banned from receiving hiking permits for the park’s mountains, park recreation director Nieh Shih-chao (聶士詔) said. The case has been referred to the National Park Police for investigation, Nieh said. The suspect denied that he caused the damage, saying that he had found the marker lying on the ground and wanted to take a photograph with it.
HOSPITALITY
Latte artist awarded
Barista Lin Shao-sing (林紹興) won third place in the latte art competition of the Milan World Coffee Championships, which concluded on Saturday in Milan, Italy. Lin placed third after three rounds of competition, starting with baristas making latte art. Lin and 11 others reached the semi-final, where they each made one matching set of free-pour macchiatos and two matching sets of free-pour latte patterns. Lin and five others advanced to the final, where they were judged on creativity, visual attributes, contrast in patterns, and in forming identical patterns in the matched sets of free-pour lattes and matched set of designer lattes. Lin placed behind South Korean barista Rora and the event’s champion, Carmen Clemente of Italy.
CRIME
Fraud nets jail term
A founder of the Taiwan Civil Government, which claims the nation is legally under US jurisdiction based on the terms of Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II, was on Friday sentenced to 19 years in prison and fined NT$2 million (US$67,540) for defrauding NT$100 million from about 300 people. Julian Lin (林梓安), secretary-general of the group, was sentenced by the Taoyuan District Court after she was convicted of profiting through fraud and money laundering. Taoyuan prosecutors began investigating the group in 2018 after receiving complaints of fraud. In 2018, prosecutors indicted six suspects for alleged contraventions of the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例) and Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法). Lin’s husband, Roger Lin (林志昇), was also charged before he died in a fall at his home in 2019. Three others received sentences ranging from 10 months to 2.5 years, and fines ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$400,000. One other person was not found guilty. The rulings can be appealed.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
RSS