SPACE
Chinese rocket no threat
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that a Chinese space rocket detected passing “near” Taiwan’s air defense identification zone did not pose a threat to national security. The ministry said in a press release that it had detected the launch of a Chinese-built Long March-2D carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province early yesterday morning. Although the rocket’s trajectory passed “near” the southwestern part of the zone, it did not pose a threat to national security due to having already left the atmosphere, the ministry said, without providing further information. It closely watched the whole launch process with its joint intelligence systems, it said. Xinhua reported that the Long March-2D rocket, which was carrying a Yaogan-39 satellite, took off from Sichuan at 8:24am. The Yaogan series are optical remote-sensing satellites that are likely also used for military reconnaissance.
SPORTS
Emilio Vargas fired
Emilio Vargas has been fired by the CTBC Brothers baseball team after testing positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive substance found in cannabis. In a public announcement, the CPBL said that the player from the US in August failed a random drug test jointly conducted by the league and a drug laboratory run by Cheng Shiu University’s Super Micro Mass Research and Technology Center. All of the results from tests Vargas submitted to passed standards set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), except his THC levels, the CPBL said in a report submitted to WADA on Sept. 4. On Thursday last week, tests were run on Vargas’ second sample by China Medical University Hospital in Taipei in accordance with WADA regulations, which also came back positive for THC, the CPBL said on Wednesday, after receiving the result a day earlier. The Brothers in a statement said that based on the league’s anti-drug regulations and punishments for players who test positive for drugs conducted by a local or foreign-certified lab, Vargas is barred for life from playing in the CPBL. Use of a Category 2 narcotic is punishable with a maximum three-year prison sentence and prosecutors are investigating the case.
SOCIETY
‘Croc’ pic draws fine
A Kaohsiung resident has been fined NT$3,000 for disturbing public order after falsely claiming on Facebook to have photographed a crocodile at the city’s Aozihdi Forest Park (凹仔底森林公園). In a verdict issued on Wednesday, the Kaohsiung District Court said that the man, surnamed Liu (劉), staged a photo on July 29 of a crocodile sitting on a rock with its mouth open using a small toy crocodile he had purchased. He later posted the photo to “Street Observation Academy,” a Facebook group with more than 1 million members, with the caption: “This is Aozihdi Park. I can’t believe it, but I don’t dare get any closer to see if this is or isn’t” real. The post, which had garnered 567 reactions, also attracted attention from the media, prompting the city’s Animal Protection Office to send personnel to search the 10-hectare park, the court said. After the search failed to turn up any sign of a crocodile, police summoned Liu, who told them that he had staged the photo and uploaded it as a practical joke, the verdict said. The court fined Liu NT$3,000 for contravening the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法). The verdict can be appealed.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
The Tainan District Court has found a teenager guilty of posting a sexually explicit video of his girlfriend on social media without consent. The court ruled his parents were legally responsible for the boy’s actions, and ordered NT$500,000 (US$16,051) to be paid in compensation to the victim. The incident took place in December last year, when the boy and his girlfriend, both under 18 and legally minors at the time of the incident, were in a relationship. The boy asked her to send him explicit videos, according to a court filing. A month later, he posted the video on social media, with its visibility
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