Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) yesterday said he would propose a resolution today urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help a Taiwanese-American held captive in North Korea.
Huang said Taiwan must do something to show its concern for the welfare of its people. Laura Ling (凌志美), a US citizen whose mother is a Taiwanese, and Euna Lee, a Korean-American — journalists from an online news outlet, Current TV — were arrested and detained by North Korean guards when they were filming a story on refugees on the border of North Korea and China on March 17.
According to a Central News Agency report, Ling's mother, Wang Mei-yan, is a native of Tainan and had served as the deputy head of the Formosa Association for Public Affairs office in Los Angeles.
When asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Hsiao Ching-tien (蕭景田) yesterday said he agreed with Huang's proposal because Ling comes from Taiwan. But Hsiao added the KMT caucus had not reached a consensus on whether to take any action to offer assistance to Ling and her family.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs James Chang (章計平) said yesterday that the ministry had sent a letter to the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Relations Office in Washington as well as in Seoul to find out more about the case and discuss how Taiwan could help with the rescue effort.
Huang was still collecting signatures for the petition yesterday. He said he expected to complete the petition today.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
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
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
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,
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