■JUSTICE
Chen questioned on projects
Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was questioned at the Taipei Detention Center yesterday by the Investigation Bureau on matters regarding classified diplomatic projects. Lee Ta-chu (李大竹), deputy director of the center where Chen is being detained, said that investigators questioned Chen from about 10am to 1:40pm. Special Investigation Panel prosecutors have investigated corruption allegations related to classified diplomatic projects during Chen’s presidency. However, Chen’s lawyer, Shih Yi-ling (石宜琳), told reporters: “According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, because Chen has already been indicted, investigators cannot reopen the case for investigation.” Chen was accompanied by Shih and another lawyer, Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文龍), during the questioning. Lee declined to comment on details regarding the questioning.
■TRANSPORTATION
Railway to go electric
The railway between Hualien and Taitung counties will be fully electrified by 2013 as part of government efforts to upgrade rail services in eastern Taiwan, Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said during an inspection tour of Taitung yesterday. Mao said the railway electrification project would begin later this year. Huang Chung-chieh (黃中杰), chief of the eastern Taiwan division of the Railway Reconstruction Bureau, said that after the 155km railway is electrified, the railway’s speed would increase from 110kph to 130kph, shortening travel time.
■TRANSPORTATION
Freeway links Wufong, Puli
National Freeway No. 6 linking Wufong in Taichung County to Puli in Nantou County was officially opened on Saturday. The 37.6km freeway incorporates high-tech and eco-friendly materials and techniques and will help boost Nantou’s tourism and agriculture, officials said. Nantou is rich in agricultural and tourism resources. One of its major products is Oolong tea and its tourist attractions include Sun Moon Lake and Shitou Forest Recreational Area, two of the country’s most popular scenic areas. The freeway is the first in Taiwan to prioritize the concept of sustainable growth by trying to minimize the impact on the environment along its route. The construction of National Freeway No. 6 started in 2004 and cost NT$37.6 billion (US$1.11 billion).
■ECONOMY
Cabinet proposes cap
The Cabinet last night said that the ceiling on interest rates for credit card and cash cards should be capped at 15.5 percent, based on the maximum 12 percent interest rate for non-collateralized loans set by the central bank plus a floating annual rate currently set at 3.5 percent. The rate cap is higher than the 12.5 percent cap suggested last week by lawmakers. The legislature’s Judicial Committee last Thursday preliminarily approved an amendment to the Civil Code (民法) that would cut the limit on all contracted interest rates from 20 percent to 9 percent above the central bank’s rate for three-month loans without collateral. In response to strong opposition voiced by foreign and domestic banks on the legislature’s move, Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) called a meeting of economic officials last night. Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Sean Chen (陳冲) suggested lawmakers stipulate a cap of the interest rate based on Article 41 of the Banking Act (銀行法) and not the Civil Code so as not to affect other kinds of loans in the private lending market.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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