■ Crime
Wang's daughter summoned
PHOTO: HU SHUN-HSIANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Taipei prosecutors and special agents from the Bureau of Investigation yesterday summoned The Chinese Bank vice general manager Wang Lin-ke (王令可), the daughter of Rebar Asia Pacific Group chairman Wang You-theng (王又曾), for questioning because they suspect her of helping her father steal NT$47.9 million from the bank. Special agents also interrogated the bank's Taiyuan Rd branch manager, Chen Wen-dung (陳文棟), for his alleged involvement in the case. Prosecutors said that Wang Lin-ke and Chen abetted Wang You-theng by illegally selling Rebar's debts to companies that had difficulty obtaining credit financing. These companies' applications for credit were approved, with no credit checks or endorsements needed, if they agreed to use half of the money from financing to buy Rebar's debts.
■ Politics
New Lu book hits shelves
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday released a new book, The Global Taiwan, saying that the book was written to correct the erroneous notion that Taiwan is part of China, which she said had misled many people in Taiwan and the world. "I think it is a pity that people always get confused when asked about their national identity. Clarifying the confusion is important as it will contribute to the country's nation building," Lu said at her book launch press conference. Likening writing a book to giving a birth to a baby, Lu said that the book is like her 15th child. Lu started writing books at the age of 30. "The energy I spent on this book was much more than that I devoted to my previous works, as I always feel emotional when thinking of the nation's history," Lu said.
■ Society
Actress Beatrice Hsu dies
Beatrice Hsu (許瑋倫), a 28-year-old actress and pop idol, died at a Taichung hospital on Sunday, two days after sustaining a serious head injury in a car crash on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway. The accident occurred on Friday night, when Hsu's assistant, Lin Yi-wen (林怡妏), was at the wheel. For reasons that remain unclear, the southbound car hit a guardrail and was then hit from behind by a truck, Taichung County's Sanyi police department said. Lin suffered light injuries, but Hsu suffered serious head and chest wounds and fell into a coma. The pair were rushed to hospital in Taichung where Hsu died on Sunday evening, the hospital said.
■ Weather
EPA issues air quality alert
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) issued an alert yesterday about worsening air quality in the wake of pollutants accompanying recent cold fronts. The fronts have brought pollutants originating from southern China, EPA forecasters said. According to officials, air quality in northern Taiwan was at its worst in several months on Sunday. Southern Taiwan is also expected to be affected by worsening air quality over the next two days. Officials said this could create difficulties for people with allergies or respiratory problems, and urged anyone affected to avoid going outdoors or to wear a mask if they must go outside.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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