■ SOCIETY
Divorce hurting children
The Hualien branch of a social welfare group said yesterday that society should pay more attention to the impact of the growing divorce rate on children, with children often being raised by single mothers. Chen Ching-hui (陳清輝), director of the Hualien branch of the Chinese Fund for Children and Families, said the number of children in Hualien County receiving monetary subsidies from the organization was increasing at a rate of more than 300 annually. Chen said that a study conducted by the organization showed that most of the newly registered children were from households with divorced single parents, a demographic that was increasing by about 200 per year. The organization has lifted its threshold for applicants seeking economic handouts and is providing monthly monetary aid amounting to NT$5 million (US$164,000) to some 3,000 children from about 1,300 families in Hualien County, Chen said.
■ SCIENCE
NARL decides on new home
The National Science Council’s National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) said it would build its marine research center in Kaohsiung County. The facility will serve as headquarters for marine technology research and development, long-term observation of the nation’s marine environment and biology, and the training and cultivation of marine technology talent, NARL said. The national research center will also promote cooperation with other countries and organizations in the development of marine technology, push for the sustainable use of marine resources, and conduct marine disaster control and prevention. The headquarters, which will be located at Hsingta Port in Jiading Township (茄萣), will be built on a 6.6 hectare plot of land, while a wharf at the port will be renovated to accommodate four research ships.
■ HEALTH
Chiayi unveils tax exemption
Recreational businesses in Chiayi County that temporarily halted their operations because of the enterovirus outbreak can now apply for entertainment tax exemption. The county government’s Finance and Taxation Bureau said the move was part of efforts to halt the spread of enterovirus. As of Friday, 296 serious enterovirus cases — with 10 fatalities — had been confirmed around the country this year. The bureau said any businesses that decided to interrupt operations over enterovirus concerns could apply for the exemption, which would be granted after their case is examined by bureau officials.
■ CRIME
Fake ID ring busted
Law enforcement officials busted an eight-member forgery ring selling fake identification cards, driver’s licenses and various certificates, the Kaohsiung Public Prosecutors’ Office said on Friday. The office said prosecutors, supported by communications intercepts, raided 13 locations in Kaohsiung, Taoyuan and Taipei on Thursday and arrested the ring leader and his seven accomplices. The group had placed ads in newspapers to attract customers and sold certificates for NT$30,000 to NT$50,000. Police estimated that the ring had sold at least 1,000 fake IDs and certificates, including a fake license to practice medicine. A Chinese woman and her Taiwanese husband were among the accomplices and allowed their names to be used to make fake IDs, driver’s licenses and property ownership certificates. Through its operations, the ring managed to get more than NT$78 million (US$2.57 million) in loans from Taipei Fubon Bank, Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank and Union Bank of Taiwan.
‘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
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
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
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