POLITICS
Belgian delegation arrives
A group of eight Belgian lawmakers has arrived in Taiwan for a six-day trip during which they are to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and discuss future cooperation on issues including human rights and supply chain resilience, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The delegation is led by Els Van Hoof of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party, who chairs the Chamber of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and the Belgium-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group. Van Hoof is also a cochair of the international Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. The delegation also includes Georges Dallemagne, who is a member of the Belgian parliament’s Chamber of Representatives, the ministry said in a press release. The delegates are also to meet with private enterprises and research institutes to discuss future collaboration on issues including gender equality, human rights, environmental protection and supply chain resilience, it added. Both Van Hoof and Dallemagne are known for their Taiwan-friendly stance, the ministry said. In July 2020, they initiated a motion that urged the Belgian government to support Taiwan’s participation in international bodies.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
CRIME
Boy detained after threat
An 18-year-old suspect has been detained for questioning after he allegedly left a message threatening to commit a “massacre” at the Taipei Municipal Heping High School, the Taipei Police Department said on Saturday. The suspect is a high-school student who lives in Taipei with his parents, the department said, adding he was arrested at his home in the morning. He was released in the custody of his parents after being questioned by police and prosecutors. The case is now in the hands of prosecutors, who are investigating the teenager for potentially violating the Criminal Code by engaging in public intimidation. The threatening message was left in an Instagram account linked to the Taipei high school last week. Its author warned students there not to show up for class today, as there would be a massacre near the school’s entrance at noon. The alarming message has since been removed, but it still caused concern and caught the attention of local authorities. On Saturday, police said the student was believed to have threatened the school out of anxiety.
ARTS
Filmmaker wins award
Taiwanese filmmaker Hsiao Mei-ling (蕭美玲) has won the Directors Guild of Japan Award for her documentary Parallel World (平行世界) at the biennial Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF). The award ceremony was held on Wednesday in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, a National Taipei University of Education news release said on Saturday. Hsiao, who teaches at the university’s Department of Arts and Design, is also known for Somewhere Over the Cloud (雲的那端), a documentary that won a special mention in the New Asian Currents Awards category at the YIDFF in 2007. In her acceptance speech, Hsiao said she was happy that her dream of winning another award at the festival had finally come to fruition. Parallel World, which took 12 years to make, chronicles the special bond between Hsiao and her daughter, Elodie, who has Asperger’s syndrome. The film shows how Hsiao accompanies her daughter in the process of self-seeking, self-recognition and finding a way out. The YIDFF was first held in 1989 and recognizes achievements in documentary filmmaking, as well as aiming to promote and popularize the genre. The event this year was held from Oct. 5 to Thursday last week.
A Hualien pomelo farmer refused to sell to China after the country announced it would permit more Taiwanese pomelo imports, prompting widespread support from Taiwanese consumers, who rallied to buy his fruit. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said that China’s General Administration of Customs registered an additional 79 Taiwanese pomelo orchards and packing facilities in Hualien County, allowing more Taiwanese producers to export pomelos to China. “I am a Hualien fruit farmer and I refuse to sell to China,” Liu Tzu-hao (劉子豪) from Ruisui Township (瑞穗) said in an online post. Liu is a well-known farmer in the community and has served
A Chinese military drone was spotted conducting reconnaissance off Taitung County as President William Lai (賴清德) visited Pingtung County this morning to inspect a drill of the armed forces’ precision-strike capabilities, prompting the military to closely monitor its actions. Today was the final day of a three-day military exercise at Jioupeng Base (九鵬基地) to test the joint combat capabilities of the armed forces and coast guard. The exercise began on Wednesday simulating air defense interception and yesterday tested long-range strike capabilities and new air defense weapons. This morning, the military conducted a final exercise involving air defense, anti-ship and drone operations. Military sources said
UPDATE: The submarine would need to undergo combined systems testing and crew training for navy personnel before it is ready for mission, an expert said Taiwan’s first domestically built submarine, the Hai Kun (Narwhal, 海鯤), could be delivered to the navy as early as next month, military expert and Taiwan Association for Security and Development chairman Chi Tung-yun (紀東昀) said yesterday. The submarine was yesterday morning observed departing for its 21st sea trial and its 15th submerged test. The vessel missed the initial delivery deadline of November last year due to “testing delays,” its primary contractor, shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan, said in June. The contractor also cited “political pressure from China” in procuring critical equipment. All testing operations are in the final stages, with the
OCT. 31: The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Eraflu have been distributed to about 4,000 medical facilities nationwide for people in seven groups who develop flu-like symptoms As the domestic influenza epidemic enters its peak season and continues to escalate, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced that publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs for seven eligible groups have been extended to Oct. 31, allowing those who develop flu-like symptoms to receive the medication without undergoing a rapid influenza test. The CDC has extended the expanded use of flu antiviral drugs to seven groups: healthcare and influenza-prevention personnel; residents and staff at nursing homes, long-term care facilities and similar institutions; kindergarten and daycare workers and home-based caregivers; students from kindergarten through high school, vocational high school and the
RSS