■ EDUCATION
Ministry warns on drugs
The Ministry of Education expressed concern yesterday over what it said is a worrying trend of drug abuse among younger students, including some in elementary school. In the past, drug abuse had mainly been found among students with more pocket money, but the problem had now spread to those from disadvantaged families without pocket money, said Wang Fu-lin (王福林), head of the ministry’s Department of Military Training Education. The ministry’s findings revealed that poorer students were gaining access to the substances through unemployed parents with a drug habit, Wang said.
■ DIPLOMACY
Medics head for rural India
An 11-member medical team from Taiwan left New Delhi on Monday to provide free treatment to poor inhabitants of remote areas in the Indian states of West Bengal and Sikkim. The team is composed of medical doctors and staff from the International Cooperation and Development Fund — an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that oversees Taiwan’s overseas development programs — and five hospitals. The team, carrying more than US$10,000 in medicine, is on a 10-day trip to the tribes and villages in the mountainous region wedged between Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and the North Bengal Plains of India.
■ ECONOMY
3C voucher show held
The Taipei Computer Association is organizing an exhibition at the Taipei World Trade Center from tomorrow until Monday to boost the sale of so-called 3C consumer electronics products through voucher spending. The association said the exhibition would offer good deals to consumers who purchase products with their government consumer vouchers.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
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