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.”
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
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