DIPLOMACY
Vehicles donated to Turkey
Taiwan has donated two uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) command vehicles to Istanbul to help boost its disaster preparedness. At a ceremony on Tuesday, Representative to Turkey Huang Chih-yang (黃志揚) said it was important to strengthen Istanbul’s disaster response capabilities, given the high risk of earthquakes in the region and the city’s dense population of more than 16 million. The two drone command vehicles, which carry high-tech equipment, support a new disaster relief model that uses the latest technology, Huang said, adding that the new model incorporates the experience of drone operators who have worked in disaster relief in Turkey and Taiwan. Ergun Cebeci, head of the Istanbul disaster coordination center, expressed thanks to Taiwan on behalf of the city government.
CRIME
Drug ring busted
The Taipei Police Department on Wednesday said that it cracked a drug trafficking ring headed by a gang leader from the Heavenly Way Alliance, a major criminal organization, and arrested 10 people. The ring smuggled drugs including cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis concentrate into Taiwan, with a US national bringing the drugs into the country in his luggage. The ring leader, identified by his surname, Hsu (許), instructed members of the gang to produce and sell cannabis vape cartridges for profit. According to the police department, a special team acting on tip-offs seized 4.6kg of cannabis oil and packaging tools from March to July last year. Further investigation led the taskforce to an unnamed US national, whom it suspected of smuggling drugs into Taiwan and arrested him in September last year when he attempted to enter Taiwan. Following a series of raids, the task force arrested Hsu and nine others. After questioning, the suspects were transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation.
ENTERTAINMENT
Anime meet and greet
Noriko Hidaka, the voice of Satsuki Kusakabe in the 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film My Neighbor Totoro, is to hold a meet-and-greet on Feb. 9 at the Taipei International Comics and Animation Festival. The festival takes place from Feb. 6 to 10 at the Nangang International Exhibition Center in Taipei. Hidaka, who is returning to Taiwan for the first time in 12 years, thanked her local fans in a prerecorded video for their warmth and passion, which she said continued to move her. Meanwhile, Shion Wakayama, the voice of Momo Ayase in the fantasy anime series Dandadan, is to meet with fans on Feb. 8. In addition to offering merchandise, the festival would have music performances and signing events throughout its five days, the organizers said.
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.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry