CRIME
Media personality indicted
Prosecutors yesterday indicted media personality Lucifer Chu (朱學恒) on charges of indecent assault following a probe into claims he groped and forcibly kissed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Pei-chun (鍾沛君) at a restaurant on Aug. 6 last year. Chu could face between six months and five years in prison if found guilty, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. In a social media post on June 8, Chung wrote that a few days after the incident, she, accompanied by her lawyer, had demanded that Chu write and sign a letter of apology and to promise to stay away from her. However, Chu’s letter made no mention of the “indecent assault,” Chung said. She later filed a complaint with prosecutors against Chu, who she said had shown “no remorse for his behavior.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
EDUCATION
Mandarin immersion offered
National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) yesterday said that a Mandarin immersion school at its Kaohsiung campus operated by the Vermont-based Middlebury College is to begin enrolling US college students in spring next year. Students at the Middlebury School in Taiwan are to take classes in culture, politics, media, translation, geography, history, religion, environment, economics and literature taught entirely in Chinese, NSYSU said in a statement. The school, which was established following a visit by Middlebury College’s dean of international programs Carlos Velez-Blasini to the university earlier this year, requires students to sign a “language pledge” promising to speak the local language for the duration of their stay in Kaohsiung, the statement added. Enrollment is open to US students who have studied Mandarin in college for at least two years, NSYSU president Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said.
POLITICS
Presidential debates coming
The first televised policy presentation for candidates contesting the Jan. 13 presidential election is to be held on Dec. 20, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said yesterday. The candidates will be able to present their policies in three televised sessions: Dec. 20, 7pm; Dec. 26, 2pm; and Dec. 28, 7pm, the CEC said in a statement. A similar session is scheduled for vice presidential candidates at 7pm on Dec. 22. The presentations are not the same as debates where candidates can quickly respond to the claims of rivals. Instead, there will be three rounds, with each candidate given 10 minutes to present their views in each round. However, they can respond to comments another candidate made in those 10 minutes.
TRAVEL
Cathay cancels Israel flights
Cathay Pacific Airways yesterday said it has suspended all flights on its Hong Kong-Tel Aviv route until the end of the year, effective immediately, due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Passengers already on their way to the airport who have yet to receive a notification about the suspension should check their flight’s status using the booking management service on Cathay’s Web site, the Hong Kong-based carrier said in a statement. Passengers who have yet to travel can apply for a full refund, with Taiwan-based ticket holders advised to contact Cathay’s local customer service line at (02) 7752-4883. For those who have booked tickets to depart for Israel after Dec. 31 and wish to change their travel plans, the airline said it offers ticket-exemption measures to provide flexible options.
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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