■ earthquakes
Twelve tremors hit nation
The nation was struck by 12 undersea earthquakes yesterday, including a powerful one in the east, but there were no reports of damage or casualties, the earthquake center said yesterday. The first quake, measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale occurred at 2:28am, shaking Taitung County. The second tremor struck 24 minutes later with a magnitude of 4.3 near Chengkung (成功) in Taitung, the center said. Ten other quakes, measuring more than 4 on the Richter scale, including one with a magnitude of 5.4 and another of 5.2, rocked the eastern county between 3:33am and 9:04am, it said. There were no reports of damage or casualties, the center and police said.
■ politics
Cabinet doesn’t need DPP
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday he did not think that the incoming Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, which is a majority government, needed to recruit DPP members to the new Cabinet, emphasizing that cooperation between political parties should focus on policy. Hsieh made the remarks in response to a report published in yesterday’s Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) that DPP legislators had expressed reservations on the possible recruitment of Straits Exchange Foundation Vice Chairman Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌) to the new Cabinet. Dismissing the possibility as hypothetical, Hsieh said the question concerned personal desire and that his party would not begin considering such a possibility until the KMT administration officially made an announcement. Hong last night denied that he would join the new Cabinet, saying he would resign along with the other members of the current Cabinet before May 20.
■ crime
Fine, but no jail for Wu
The Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court yesterday converted Tainan County Council Speaker Wu Chien-pao’s (吳健保) five-month jail sentence for gambling into a fine, adding that the verdict was not subject to appeal. A spokesperson for the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, which meted out the jail sentence on April 10, said the office found the verdict regrettable but respected it. Wu ran several gambling houses in Tainan County between 2004 and 2005. On one occasion, then Tainan County deputy council speaker Kuo Hsiu-chu (郭秀珠) lost more than NT$80 million during a 10-day period. Wu was indicted on gambling charges by Tainan prosecutors. The decision on a second appeal issued on Feb. 2 this year said that Wu could pay a fine instead of serving jail time. The Tainan Prosecutors’ Office, however, decided not to allow Wu to substitute the jail sentence for a fine of NT$137,700, and instead sent Wu directly to jail. Wu immediately filed an appeal, with the High Court ruling in favor of a fine.
■ politics
No invitation for Chen yet
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has not yet decided whether to attend president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration on May 20 because he has not received an invitation, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The Presidential Office issued a statement dismissing a recent TVBS report that claimed Chen had turned down the invitation because it was customary for Chen to do volunteer work on inauguration day. “There is considerable discrepancy between fact and the report,” the statement said. In response, Ma’s spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said yesterday that Ma’s office would send out the invitations, including Chen’s, after finalizing the guest list.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS