SOCIETY
Car crash kills four
Four people were killed after their car crashed into a residential construction site at the intersection of Hsinchu City’s Jingguo Road and Dongda Road at about 2am yesterday, city authorities said. The Hsinchu City Fire Bureau said it received an emergency call at about 3am and sent about 20 firefighters to the scene. When they arrived, they found the car badly mangled, with two men dead. Two others were unconscious and in a critical condition, and were taken to the hospital, but later died, the bureau said. Two of the four people were likely younger than 18, it added. The Hsinchu City Police Bureau said that the fifth person in the car, a man surnamed Hsieh (謝), left the scene after the crash. Police tracked down Hsieh, 15, at about 11am and tested him for alcohol, which came back negative. Police did not offer any other details related to the accident and said it referred the case to the Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office and the district’s juvenile court division for investigation.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu City Fire Bureau
TRAVEL
Man with meat buns fined
A Chinese man entering Kinmen County with his family on Friday was stopped at customs for carrying six pork floss buns and fined NT$200,000. The man, surnamed Dong (董), refused to pay the fine and was deported. He has been banned from entering Taiwan for five years unless he settles the fine. Quarantine officers found that Dong had pork floss buns and fined him in accordance with the Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases (動物傳染病防治條例), customs officials said. Witnesses said that Dong and his family considered eating the buns on the spot, but as the six buns likely weighed more than 1kg, they would still not have avoided the fine. When the family refused to pay the fine, quarantine officers handed them over to the National Immigration Agency (NIA), who deported Dong in accordance with the law. Bringing pork products into Taiwan is prohibited, as they carry a high risk of spreading animal diseases. The NIA could also ban someone from entering Taiwan for up to five years for carrying meat products, in accordance with the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法).
MIGRANTS
Protect undocumented kids
Taiwan must do more to protect the rights of undocumented children whose migrant parents disappear or lose their legal status in Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Yue-chin (林月琴) said on Saturday. There are about 850 unregistered births by migrant workers who lost their legal status in Taiwan, Lin said, citing government statistics. The majority of those workers are women who became pregnant during their employment in Taiwan and had to abandon their contracts, sever ties or disappear from public records, she said. Children who are not included in the nation’s household registration system would be deprived of important rights and benefits, Lin said. Last year, the government naturalized 19 previously documented children and recognized another 24 as stateless residents of the nation, she added. The Chou Ta-kuang Cultural and Educational Foundation, citing the National Immigration Agency, said that 7,929 children were born to foreign nationals on Taiwanese soil, of which 25 percent were not registered with authorities. Since illegal immigrants could give birth in unlicensed clinics or at home without leaving any records, the real number of “nameless” children remains unknown, it said, adding that the highest estimate is 50,000.
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had