POSTAL
Mail to the US resumes
The Chunghwa Post has announced it would resume registered mail services to the US today, after it stopped sending mail to the US on Oct. 16. US Customs became stricter in its reviews of imported mail, leading to frequent returns of mail sent from Taiwan to the country. Chunghwa Post said it had talked to the US Postal Service, and that it is again accepting registered letters, postcards, printed matter, newspapers, postcards and mail for the blind bound for the US. People who want to send mail to the US, whether containing goods or documents, must visit Chunghwa Post’s “EZPost Online Mailing” Web site and create an international mail dispatch form, it said. Paper dispatch forms will not be accepted, it added. Chunghwa Post also reminded the public that only gifts and books can be sent to the US, and that the value of gifts must not exceed US$100.
Photo: CNA
AVIATION
Airlines update software
All Taiwanese airlines completed a required software update on Airbus A320 series aircraft before 7am yesterday, following an emergency directive issued after a technical failure in the US, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said. Airbus said about 6,000 A320-family jets worldwide must undergo software updates and cannot be operated without the fix. The announcement followed reports of a flight-control system malfunction linked to solar flare interference. The CAA said it received the EU Aviation Safety Agency’s emergency airworthiness directive on Saturday, and immediately instructed local airlines to carry out inspections and update their software before the order took effect at 8am yesterday. All Taiwanese A320-family aircraft had completed the required updates before the deadline, it added. Tigerair Taiwan reported minor delays due to the adjustments, while all other airlines operated normally.
SOCIETY
Marine found dead in base
A marine on Saturday night was found shot dead in a military sentry box in a Kaohsiung base, in an apparent suicide. The man, a first lieutenant surnamed Hsu (許), was found dead inside the sentry box. He obtained a firearm and an unknown amount of ammunition from the base at about 7pm, the Marine Corps Command said, adding that the items were accessible for regular maintenance. The command said it immediately sealed off the crime scene to preserve evidence, pending a police investigation. It did not provide further details on when or where the incident occurred. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the 1925, 1995 or 1980 hotlines for help.
CRIME
Murderer on run repatriated
A fugitive convicted of murder in 2000, who was hiding in Indonesia under an assumed identity, was repatriated to Taiwan on Friday, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. The 47-year-old man, surnamed Lai (賴), was flagged by Indonesia’s Directorate General of Immigration as a suspicious foreign national and reported to the CIB’s office in Indonesia, the bureau said. Lai was arrested in Jakarta on Wednesday. Lai in 1999 was involved in a brawl and stabbing case in Taipei that resulted in one dead and two injured, the CIB said. In 2000, he was sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison for homicide, and continued to receive heavy sentences after multiple appeals. To evade imprisonment, he fled Taiwan in March 2011.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
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