GOVERNMENT
Acting minister named
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯) has been appointed acting minister, following the resignation of Li Men-yen (李孟諺), Cabinet spokesman Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said on Tuesday. A permanent replacement would be announced at a later date, he said. Chen Yen-po has served in the transportation ministry for more than two decades. He has experience in the Department of Railways and Highways, the Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau and the Highway Bureau, and had served as chief secretary of the ministry, the ministry’s Web site shows. Li on Monday tendered his resignation to President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) following revelations of a decade-long extramarital affair. His resignation was accepted by Cho on the same day.
FOOD SAFETY
Pepper fails inspections
A batch of mini pepper packs imported by Zensho Taiwan, which operates the Japanese restaurant chains Sukiya and Hamasushi in Taiwan, was seized at the border for failing inspections, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday. The 10.8kg shipment was found to contain 0.36 parts per million (ppm) of the pesticide acetamiprid, above the limit of 0.05ppm, as well as 0.08ppm of chlorpyrifos, a banned pesticide, the agency said. The company’s imports would be subject to random inspections at an increased rate of 20 to 50 percent, as opposed to the original 2 to 10 percent, FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said. Additionally, two shipments of dried chili from China, both totaling 16,000kg, were seized after they were found to contain 0.003ppm and 0.004ppm of fipronil residue respectively. The legal limit for the pesticide is 0.002ppm, the FDA said. A total of 78 batches of dried chili from China have been inspected at the border over the past six months.
CRIME
Two indicted for tech theft
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office has indicted two men for allegedly stealing technology from their former Japan-based employer on behalf of a Chinese company, the office said on Tuesday. The men, surnamed Wu (吳) and Huang (黃), are suspected of copying and revealing the company’s core technology to a man surnamed Wang (王), who owns a precision industry company in China, prosecutors said. They are accused of breach of trust and obtaining records from another’s computer without good reason, in contravention of the Criminal Code, as well as contraventions of the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法) and Copyright Act (著作權法). Their actions are believed to have resulted in the company losing at least NT$12.3 billion (US$385.12 million). Wu, a research and development manager, and Huang, a senior engineer, were involved in designing and developing manufacturing processes for the company’s patented microactuators, prosecutors said. Wang approached Wu after setting up a research and development center in Taiwan to obtain technology for his Chinese company. He interviewed Wu in 2019, promising an annual salary of NT$5 million. He also transferred US$98,000 and US$66,000 to Wu and his wife, and agreed to give her spouse stocks and a paid nominal company position, prosecutors said. Wu then recruited Huang, after which they proceeded with the alleged crimes before resigning from the Japanese company in February and May 2020 respectively.
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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