SOCIETY
Double Ten show in Chiayi
The Double Ten National Day fireworks display is to be held at the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum in Chiayi County on Monday, the committee responsible for National Day celebrations said. In addition to the 25,000 fireworks to be set off, a 360-degree dancing water display featuring a light sculpture projection and a sound and light show is to be staged during the 45-minute performance, the county’s Tourism Bureau said. Drones would also feature, accompanied by music performed by the Taipei Sinfonietta and Philharmonic Orchestra, it said, adding that the orchestra would play a range of pieces from traditional Taiwanese folk songs to songs by popular local singers and bands, such as Wu Bai (伍佰) and China Blue. A bazaar would be open from 2pm near the museum’s southern branch, selling local products and food at more than 400 stands, while 12,000 free parking spaces would be available, the county government said.
EARTHQUAKES
Three quakes hit east coast
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Hualien County early yesterday morning, and two hours later a magnitude 3.5 quake hit Taitung County, the Central Weather Bureau said. The hypocenter of the magnitude 5.3 quake, which occurred at 4:25am, was 58.2km south-southwest of Hualien County Hall in Fongbin Township (豐濱) at a depth of 23.5km, the bureau’s Seismology Center said. The hypocenter of the magnitude 3.6 quake, which hit at 6:30am, was 33.8km north of Taitung County Hall in Guanshan Township (關山) at a depth of 8km. An additional magnitude 3.5 quake struck at 8:16am. Its hypocenter was in Chihshang Township (池上), 32 km north of Taitung County Hall, at a depth of 7.6km, the bureau said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
TRAFFIC
Driver, 91, kills woman
A woman was killed and three others injured after a 91-year-old man who had had his license revoked reversed at high speed onto a sidewalk in Taoyuan’s Gueishan District (龜山) at 5:22pm on Saturday afternoon. The 91-year-old, surnamed Lee (李), reversed his car at high speed nearly 200m in the wrong direction, police said. Lee’s car clipped two scooter drivers waiting at an intersection, before running over a 13-year-old boy and his 51-year-old mother standing on the adjacent sidewalk and crashing into a tree, police said. The mother, surnamed Teng (鄧), was killed, while her son and the two scooter drivers were hospitalized. Police said no trace of alcohol was found in Lee’s system.
CRIME
Paiwan artist charged
Paiwan artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung was on Sept. 21 charged with offenses against sexual autonomy by Pingtung County prosecutors after an investigation that took nine months, according to court documents released last week. Sakuliu, 62, who received a National Award for Arts in 2018, was charged with sexual assault after allegations were made against him last year. The first accusation appeared in a piece titled Story of a Small Town posted online in December last year by artist Kuo Yu-ping (郭俞平), who described how a Paiwan artist she called Kulusa sexually assaulted a 19-year-old female fan earlier that same year. Many readers speculated that Sakuliu was the artist alluded to in the story and police launched an investigation. Days later, engineer Yu Yue-lien (余悅廉) said that Sakuliu had attempted to sexually assault her in the summer of 2006. Sakuliu has denied all allegations.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
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