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.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to