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.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
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