WEATHER
North, center to see rain
Steady rainfall is forecast for northern and central Taiwan today, along with isolated showers in the south, meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. Weather conditions would become gradually drier tomorrow and on Wednesday, with rain mostly limited to northern and eastern Taiwan, he said. Temperatures would also gradually rebound during that three-day period, as the cold front weakens, Wu said. The weather during the Children’s Day and Tomb Sweeping Day holiday weekend would be “more or less stable,” with clear to mostly cloudy weather and warming temperatures for most of Taiwan, and a chance of isolated showers in the east, he said.
Photo: CNA
TOURISM
Kenting rental to be fined
A guesthouse in Kenting National Park would be fined for contravening price control rules, after an investigation found it increased its room rate by almost 900 percent for dates in early April, when two major festivals are to be held. It is facing fines of between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000 for price gouging, and NT$40,000 for exceeding the allowed room count, authorities said yesterday, citing regulations in the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例). The inspection was conducted following the discovery of an illegal guesthouse in Kenting, which had raised its room rates from NT$895 (US$26.94) to NT$7,980 per night, higher than the approved range for a price hike. The Taiwan Music Festival is to be held in Kenting from April 3 to 5, and overlaps with the national four-day holiday from April 3 to 6 for the Tomb-Sweeping Festival.
CRIME
Rapist handed 22 years
A go tutor has been sentenced to 22 years for molesting 12 children up to 64 times in total. The New Taipei District Court on Wednesday last week found the defendant surnamed Lee (李) guilty of contravening the Criminal Code for molesting children below the age of 14, with the youngest reportedly six years old, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法), and the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例) by filming the children as he abused them, it said. The case came to light on Sept. 1 last year, when a victim’s parents reported Lee’s misconduct. He had been operating an unlicensed go classroom where he installed cameras. Authorities inspected the site the following day, seizing video evidence and later identifying 12 people. The New Taipei City Education Department also fined Lee NT$250,000 (US$7,553.55) last year and ordered the immediate closure of his “classroom.”
CINEMA
Film event begins today
The Ministry of Culture and the British Film Institute (BFI) are to host “Myriad Voices: Reframing Taiwan New Cinema” in London from today until April 30. The event would feature 15 films, showcasing works by renowned directors such as Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Edward Yang (楊德昌), Wang Toon (王童), Wan Jen (萬仁), Chang Yi (張毅), Chen Kun-hou (陳坤厚) and Huang Yu-shan (黃玉珊), the ministry said. Chen and Huang are to attend select screenings to share their insights on Taiwan New Cinema, it added. The Cultural Division of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK said the collaboration with BFI marks a significant milestone and reflects their commitment to fostering cultural exchange through cinema. They said they hope the event raises the profile of Taiwanese films in the UK and help the British gain a better understanding of Taiwanese cinema.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party