POLITICS
Ko’s detention continues
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is to be held incommunicado detention for another two months for alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City (京華城) case during his tenure as Taipei mayor. Ko decided not to appeal the Taipei District Court’s decision on Nov. 1, which agreed to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office’s request to extend his detention. Ko’s lawyers could appeal the decision until yesterday, and they did not. It means his detention would be extended to Jan. 4 next year, unless the court decides to release him on bail. Aside from Ko, other major suspects in the case being held in detention include Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), chairman of the Core Pacific Group (威京集團), which was in charge of the controversial Core Pacific City redevelopment project, Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) and then-deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲). Prosecutors said Sheen allegedly paid bribes of NT$47.4 million (US$1.47 million at the current exchange rate) to sway city government officials to substantially increase the floor area ratio — the amount of floor space a developer can build on a given plot of land — of the project.
MILITARY
Vintage bomb found
An army unit yesterday removed a “corroded” unexploded 227kg bomb from a construction site for a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) semiconductor plant in Kaohsiung, authorities said. The “severely corroded” bomb was found at the Nanzih Technology Industrial Park. Construction workers were briefly evacuated from the site while the army bomb disposal unit recovered the bomb. The device appeared to be from an “early period,” but its exact vintage could not be determined due to its “unclear serial number,” 8th Field Army spokeswoman Kung Chiung-yu (龔瓊玉) said. The bomb was later taken to a secure storage facility where it would be destroyed, Kung said. The area where it was found had been used by the Japanese Navy as a fuel plant during World War II and it was later converted into a refinery, the Bureau of Cultural Heritage’s Web site said. “We prioritize the safety of on-site personnel and will collaborate with the relevant authorities to adhere to the prescribed procedures,” TSMC said in a statement.
CRIME
Pager probe closed
Taipei prosecutors yesterday said they had closed a probe into pagers that exploded in Lebanon in September, dealing a deadly blow to Iran-backed Hezbollah, saying no Taiwanese citizens or companies were involved. Security sources have previously said the pagers carried the name of Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, a company which has said that it did not produce them. The government has also said the pagers were not made in Taiwan. Taipei prosecutors said in a statement the AR-924 pager model that exploded in Lebanon was manufactured, traded and shipped by a firm called Frontier Group Entity, and made outside of Taiwan. However, Gold Apollo had authorized the company to use the Apollo trademark, they said. “There is no evidence indicating that any domestic manufacturers or individuals were accomplices in the relevant explosions, contravening the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, or engaging in other illegal activities,” they said in a statement. “No concrete evidence of criminal activity has been discovered in this case, nor have any specific individuals been implicated in any criminal activity, following a comprehensive investigation.”
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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