■ CRIME
Sex crime suspect deported
A fugitive from the US who allegedly sexually assaulted his patients while practicing dentistry in the US between 2003 and 2006 was deported yesterday after he was tracked down by local police last week, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said. Departing aboard a United Airlines flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport under the escort of US police officers, the man was expected to be taken back to the US to face trial, the bureau said in a statement. Shiu Tony Gong, a 40-year-old US citizen, was a dentist in Alameda, California. He allegedly molested and sodomized his patients after putting them under anesthesia between June 2003 and August 2006, the bureau said. Gong fled to Taiwan on Sept. 24, 2006, just before he was placed on a wanted list by a California court on Oct. 5, 2006, the bureau said. Gong had since taught English in a cram school under the name “Tony J” and had changed his address frequently, it said.
■POLITICS
Premier approves changes
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) yesterday approved the appointment of Taipei police chief Wang Cho-chun (王卓鈞) to replace Hou You-yi (侯友宜) as director-general of the National Police Agency (NPA). Hou was designated president of the Central Police University, replacing Shieh Ing-dan (謝銀黨). The personnel change was proposed by Minister of the Interior (MOI) Liao Liao-yi (廖了以) yesterday afternoon, Cabinet spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said. The changes will take effect as soon as the paperwork is completed, Shih said.
■EDUCATION
No to Chinese degrees
It might take two to three years before Taiwan starts recognizing degrees issued by Chinese educational institutions, Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) said yesterday. Fielding questions at the legislature, Cheng said that the ministry was leading an initiative to study the feasibility of Taiwan recognizing China’s academic credentials, in line with one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) campaign promises. “Since this is a matter that also involves Chinese authorities, a final decision is not expected to be made soon,” Cheng said. “It will be at least two to three years before the first batch of Chinese students will be allowed to come and study at local colleges and universities.” Also speaking during the session, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said the ministry must be careful and remain vigilant in considering such an important decision.
■FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Ma trips not confirmed
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it was not sure whether President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would attend the inauguration ceremonies of the new presidents of Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, two of the nation’s diplomatic allies. “So far, we have not received instructions on whether President Ma will head the congratulatory delegation, but the plan is to send the highest-level governmental delegation as both Paraguay and the Dominican Republic are very important allies,” Simon Ko (柯森耀), director-general of the ministry’s Central and South American Affairs division, said at a regular press briefing. The Dominican Republic will hold the inauguration ceremony for President Fernandez on Aug. 16, while Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo, who won his country’s April 20 election, is scheduled to be sworn in on Aug. 15.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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