■ JUDICIARY
Court finds Hu not guilty
The Taipei District Court yesterday found political commentator Hu Chung-hsin (胡忠信) not guilty in a libel lawsuit filed by President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) daughter Chen Hsin-yu (陳幸妤) in 2005. Chen Hsin-yu filed the suit against Hu after the commentator alleged during a TV talk show in October 2005 that she had used a professional meeting in the US as a pretext to travel there to open a bank account to help her father conceal his assets. The court said that while Hu's allegations were not completely factual, he had nevertheless given his sources. The court ruling also said that as Hu's comments were on a public matter, he had not committed libel.
■ SOCIETY
Taipei pushes moon cake
The Taipei City Government yesterday urged residents and businesses to support groups for the disabled by purchasing moon cakes made by several shelters for disabled people. Showcasing various moon cakes and other snacks -- including egg rolls and pineapple cakes -- at Taipei City Hall yesterday, nine civic groups joined forces to promote the products and encourage disabled people. Addressing the event, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said working at the shelters helped give disabled people a sense of confidence and a sense of accomplishment. "Supporting their products helps take care of disabled people's finances and ease the burden on their families," Hau said. The products can be purchased at shelters sponsored by the Children Are Us Foundation, the Taipei City Disabled Group Association, the Taipei Parents Association of Autism, and the Renai and Songteh branches of the Taipei City Hospital.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56