A telephone number allegedly used to harass a woman after she bought a book critical of the Chinese Communist Party at Eslite Bookstore has been blocked, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday, adding that it is to meet with telecoms today to discuss filtering calls that do not have valid country codes.
Here I Stand Project deputy secretary-general Cynthia Yang (楊欣慈) on Sunday told a news conference that she received a phone call from a number that started with 28.
The callers claimed to be from Eslite Bookstore and wanted to know what Yang thought about If China Attacks (阿共打來怎麼辦), a book she purchased online in February, she said, adding that they promoted Chinese “united front” rhetoric.
Photo: Ling Mei-hsueh, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Digital Affairs on Monday launched an investigation to determine whether personal data were leaked in the incident.
NCC Deputy Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that 28 is not a valid country code and the number has been blocked.
“We have been blocking scam calls that begin with Taiwan’s country code, 886, but we should also be blocking calls that do not have a valid country code,” Wong said.
The commission is to discuss with telecoms how to filter such calls without compromising the exchange efficiency, he said.
Eslite Bookstore on Monday said in a statement that it has reported the data security breach to the police and pledged to comply with the government’s investigation into the incident.
Separately, Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co yesterday warned about scam messages that spoof the company’s name.
“Some drivers received text messages that appeared to have been sent by Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection about unpaid parking fees,” the company said. “The messages read: ‘We want to remind you that you have an unpaid parking fee of NT$45. The fine for failing to pay before the due date would be NT$300. Please enter the last three digits of your phone number, click on the link and make the payments.’”
“We do not send such messages, because people who use eTags to pay parking fees pay automatically via credit card,” it said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
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