■ Diplomacy
Cash payments denied
The government has denied claims that it donated cash to former Malawian president Bakili Muluzi amid rumors that he had received cash from foreign donors, including Taiwan, during his 10-year rule which ended last year. "Taiwan and Malawi have signed many cooperation programs and our government has allocated funds according to these programs, but has never made personal donations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Ching-lung (呂慶龍) said. Malawi's anti-corruption bureau said it has launched a probe into how US$11 million ended up in Muluzi's private bank account. Muluzi rejected the allegations and has been summoned to appear before the anti-graft body on Monday.
■ Charity
Pakistan trip called off
Members of the private Taiwan Roots Medical Peace Corps decided on Wednesday to abandon plans to travel to Pakistan to provide medical relief to victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake. Taiwan Roots president Liu Chi-hsiang (劉啟群) quoted Adam Fields, a US national who is a Taiwan Roots' volunteer, as saying after arriving in Pakistan that the Pakistani government welcomes humanitarian relief and medical aid from around the world, but would not issue visas to relief personnel from Taiwan, India or Israel. According to Liu, Fields was told by the Pakistani authorities that if Taiwanese groups plan to enter Pakistan for relief work, they should first obtain permission from Beijing. Liu criticized the Pakistani government for politicizing a purely humanitarian-aid issue, saying that linking humanitarian work to politics is the last thing that his group would like to see.
■ Crime
More women driving drunk
Taipei police statistics have shown that the number of women who have been caught drunk driving in the last three years has increased significantly, in spite of harsher penalties being imposed. Taipei police officers noted that since stiffer penalties were imposed in 2002 for drunk drivers in Taipei, the number of young drunk drivers has increased, with 18 to 20 year-olds accounting for the bulk. Meanwhile, the ratio of women driving drunk rose significantly from 5.9 percent in 2002 to 7.4 percent this year, the police officers said. Police officers expressed concern that the number of drunk drivers will rise further over the next few months as that is the peak season for drunk driving due to several traditional festivals, including Lunar New Year.
■ Culture
President praises winners
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) praised the five winners of the 9th National Culture and Arts awards yesterday as "cultural heroes" who have enriched the nation's cultural environment. Winners of the awards are theater arts professor Wang An-chi (王安祈), choreographer Lin Li-chen (林麗珍), film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), novelist Chen Ching-wen (鄭清文) and composer Chien Nan-chang (錢南章). According to the president, the reputations enjoyed by these artists have helped make the arts achievements of Taiwan known overseas. He said culture is the nutrient that strengthens the development of a country and that society needs arts and culture to shape people's taste and enhance its humanistic values. He said that cultural and artistic creations flesh out the living environment.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan