■ DIPLOMACY
Help to Guatemala continues
Taiwan said yesterday it would continue to help Guatemala build a highway connecting the capital, Guatemala City, to El Rancho, a harbor by the Atlantic Ocean. Ambassador Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) confirmed with the Central News Agency that the first phase of the project — expanding the two-lane road to four lanes — had been completed after two years of construction and that Taipei had agreed to continue to fund the project. Ou also said Taiwan was willing and able to provide assistance in cultivating talent for Guatemala’s small and medium enterprises.
■SOCIETY
Aunty White dies at 89
Marjorie Bly, a nurse from the US who treated lepers on Penghu for 54 years, died on Tuesday of heart failure. She was 89. Bly’s heart failure was the result of pneumonia brought on by a bout of flu, said her doctor, Wu Fang-tsan (吳芳燦). Paying his last respects to Bly at the hospital, Penghu County Commissioner Wang Chien-fa (王乾發) described Bly as “Penghu’s angel” and said her death would bring sorrow to many, adding that the county government would issue a public statement recognizing her long-term devotion to the island. Wu Wen-chung (吳文忠), a local priest, said local residents would follow Bly’s instructions and decorate her funeral ceremony with her sunflowers. Wu said the funeral would be simple, with little talk and hymns. Bly herself requested this, Wu said, because “she did not pass away. She is just sleeping.” Bly, nicknamed “Aunty White,” by local residents, was assigned to Taiwan by her church in 1952. She arrived in Penghu two years after that. Last April, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) bestowed a state medal upon Bly in recognition of her contributions and sacrifices for the people of Penghu.
■ EVENTS
Hakka Tung festival opens
The Hakka Tung Blossom Festival opens today, with seven counties in the north and south presenting a variety of activities to celebrate the annual flower season through the end of next month. Council for Hakka Affairs Chairman Lee Yung-teh (李永得) will hold a news conference today to provide information as to where visitors can go to see the spectacular drifts of snow-white flowers, as well as the many other activities reflecting Hakka culture in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua and Nantou counties. April and May are the months when tung flowers, also known as paulownia flowers, are in full bloom in central and northern Taiwan.
■ CRIME
Rebar defendant released
The final defendant in the Rebar Asia Pacific Group case still under detention, Wang Lin-i (王令一), was released yesterday on NT$50 million (US$1.6 million) bail. Wang’s lawyer, Lee Wen-chung (李文中), brought the money to the Taipei District Court yesterday morning and Wang was able to leave the Taipei Detention House in the afternoon. Lee said that one of Wang’s friends in the construction business had helped him with part of the money. The other three defendants in detention — Frank Wang (王事展), Wang Lin-tai (王令台) and Wang Lin-chiao (王令僑) — have already paid bail and were released from detention on Monday and Tuesday. The court has requested that the defendants report back to authorities every Wednesday. Frank Wang, Wang Lin-tai and Wang Lin-chiao were all present in court yesterday morning. They declined to comment to the media.
‘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 magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
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