TOURISM
Arrivals fall 24.8% in April
The number of international arrivals in April declined 24.8 percent from March, the Tourism Administration said on Thursday. The agency attributed the decline to people canceling or postponing plans to visit Taiwan after an earthquake on April 3 devastated Hualien County. It said it has made promotional videos of safe travel in Hualien and has asked travel agencies to add alternative attractions to Taroko Gorge to their itineraries, as most of Hualien’s attractions have not been affected. April arrivals were 10.29 percent higher than a year earlier, agency data showed. On the other hand, arrivals from Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea and Singapore were the most affected, data showed. From January to March, monthly inbound traveler numbers increased year-on-year, they said, adding that in March, during which the Lantern Festival was held, visitor numbers rose to 811,608.
DIPLOMACY
EU envoy receives medal
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) at a ceremony in Taipei on Thursday conferred a medal on European Economic and Trade Office Head Filip Grzegorzewski. Lin presented the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy to Grzegorzewski and lauded him for his “great achievements in enhancing the partnership” between Taiwan and the EU over the past five years. Grzegorzewski has played “a crucial role” in increasing the EU’s attention to and discussions about the situation in Taiwan, Lin said. The European Council had expressed its concerns over the “growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait” and its opposition to “any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion,” he said. Praising Taiwan as a “symbol” of development, open society and freedom, Grzegorzewski said that people from Taiwan and the EU are bound by the shared values of human rights, rule of law and democracy. Taiwan and the EU are also important economic and trade partners, he said, adding that the EU was Taiwan’s largest investor, accounting for more than 25 percent of foreign direct investment. EU investment has not only contributed to Taiwan’s job market and economic development, but also connected Taiwan with the global community, he said, adding that he was “very, very proud” of this achievement.
CRIME
Men sentenced to life in jail
Four extortion ring members who carried out deadly unlawful confinements in northern Taiwan were sentenced to life in prison by the Shilin District Court on Wednesday. Tu Cheng-che (杜承哲), the group’s ringleader, was convicted on 329 charges, including unlawful confinement resulting in death, fraud, forced drug abuse, initiating a crime organization and improper disposal of a body, the court said in a statement. Hsueh Lung-ting (薛隆廷), Hung Chun-chieh (洪俊杰) and Wang Yu-chieh (王昱傑) were found guilty on 327 counts, including unlawful confinement resulting in death, fraud and forced drug abuse. The men began luring people in September 2022 to rented residences in Taoyuan’s Jhongli (中壢) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) districts by holding fake interviews for high-paying jobs and offering large sums of money to “rent out” people’s inactive bank accounts, prosecutors said. Those who responded were held against their will by the perpetrators, who took their bank passbooks, account passwords and IDs, they said. Police in November last year found 35 people in an apartment in Taoyuan and 26 in Tamsui. The captives given sleeping pills or drugs to keep them lethargic and were beaten, electrocuted or pepper-sprayed, leading to the deaths of three people.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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