■ 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.
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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
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