POLITICS
Chang tapped for APEC
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has appointed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) as her envoy to next month’s APEC summit, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Chang is to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, which is scheduled to be held from Nov. 15 to 17 in San Francisco, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said in a press release. Under the Tsai administration, Chang has excelled in the role of the president’s envoy, successfully carrying out the duties assigned to him by Tsai at five previous APEC meetings, from 2018 to last year, Lin said. Those duties included engaging with other APEC leaders, enhancing Taiwan’s global visibility, and conveying the country’s willingness and ability to contribute to the international community, Lin said. Chang, 92, is the founder of TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, and he has served as the president’s envoy to APEC seven times. He first attended the annual APEC summit on behalf of Taiwan’s president in 2006, during the administration of then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). While the heads of government of all APEC members usually attend the annual Economic Leaders’ Meeting, Taiwan’s leaders have not been permitted to do so, due to China’s objection.
SOCIETY
Mahjong referendum denied
The Central Election Commission (CEC) on Friday rejected a proposed referendum on decriminalizing gambling on mahjong in public for elderly people with stakes of less than NT$1,000. The proposal, initiated by Kuo Hsi (郭璽), founder and chair of the Taiwan Mahjong Greatest Party, sought to allow people aged 65 or older to legally bet amounts lower than NT$1,000 on mahjong games in public. A hearing was held on July 17, after which Kuo was asked to submit a revised proposal. The CEC held a second meeting on Friday to examine the revised proposal, but it still turned it down, because it “did not meet the legal requirements,” the commission said in a press release, without providing any other details. In its current form, Article 266 of the Criminal Code makes gambling in public or via electronic or virtual means punishable by a fine of up to NT$50,000. While the law does contain an exception for gambling that is done “for temporary amusement,” it does not clearly define the term or set a ceiling on how much can be wagered.
CRIME
Three die in Taoyuan
Taoyuan prosecutors are investigating an alleged murder-suicide case in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅), in which a suspect, surnamed Cheng (鄭), allegedly stabbed to death a couple, then jumped off a building to his death. Police first received a report of a man falling off a building on Tuesday night, then found a couple’s bodies at their home, apparently killed by knife wounds. Prosecutors identified the couple as a man surnamed Hung (洪), 54, and his wife, surnamed Hoang, 42, originally from Vietnam, who had reportedly been involved in romantic relations with Cheng, 48. Neighbors said the couple were married for more than 10 years, but were once divorced, then remarried. Neighbors said Hoang had a relationship with Cheng when the couple were divorced. Later, Cheng harassed Hoang over her returning to Hung. Due to constant harassment by Cheng, the couple in July applied for a “restraining order” mandating Cheng to stay away, according to Taoyuan prosecutors.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
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