■ 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.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by