SOCIETY
Theaters get bomb threats
Several movie theaters have received bomb threats for showing a documentary on a government-run organ harvesting operation in China, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Wednesday. The theaters received e-mails saying they would place bombs or shoot their premises if they did not stop showing the documentary State Organs: Unmasking Transplant Abuse in China, the bureau said. The CIB said the e-mails were sent from an overseas IP that used a VPN proxy. Theaters in Taichung, Kaohsiung, Yilan and Pingtung counties, and a Taipei media outlet received e-mails of this nature, the CIB said. It did not identify the individual locations. No bombs have been found so far in any of the movie theaters that have received the threats, the CIB said, adding that local police have stepped up their monitoring of the areas and kept in contact with the businesses. Sending bomb threats is a crime, the bureau said, citing the Criminal Code. The documentary was directed by Raymond Zhang (章勇進) and follows the story of two families in China embarking on a perilous 20-year journey that eventually uncovers a government-run organ harvesting operation.
SECURITY
Chinese fishing boat seized
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Wednesday said it had seized a Chinese fishing boat and its nine crew members, after the vessel was found inside the nation’s restricted waters. The incident happened on Tuesday near Cimei Township (七美) in Penghu County. Images released by the CGA showed its ship pursuing the fishing boat and its personnel boarding the vessel, where they found about 1 tonne of fish. The CGA said it had broadcast warnings and deployed a water cannon during its pursuit of the vessel. The fishing boat was taken to Cimei port on Wednesday and an investigation is underway. “We urge the public to report any sightings of unauthorized Chinese fishing vessels ... as part of a continued effort to safeguard national security and development of marine resources,” CGA personnel in Penghu said.
AGRICULTURE
Damages reach NT$498mn
Agricultural crop and equipment losses from Typhoon Krathon reached NT$498.6 million (US$15.5 million) as of Wednesday, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Southern Taiwan was ravaged by strong winds and heavy rains brought by Krathon, which killed four and injured 719 last week, with banana, guava and wax apple crops most severely hit. Pingtung County was hit the hardest, accounting for 59 percent (NT$295.45 million) of the total agricultural losses. That was followed by Kaohsiung, which incurred 22 percent (NT$110.79 million) of the total losses, while Taitung County also reported losses of NT$36.94 million, or 7 percent of the total. About 5,782 hectares of agricultural land were impacted, with a damage level of about 20 percent, which translates to an “unharvested area” of 1,183 hectares. In addition to losses from crop damage amounting to NT$378.23 million, privately owned agriculture-related infrastructure worth NT$112.89 million was also impacted, of which NT$44.84 million were losses of agriculturally viable land, NT$15.58 million were from damaged agricultural facilities such as horizontal trellises and greenhouses, NT$17.93 million were related to livestock facilities and NT$34.53 million were from fisheries equipment.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe