■ CRIME
Stowaways repatriated
Ninety-four illegal Chinese migrants were repatriated yesterday to reunite with their families ahead of tomorrow’s Dragon Boat Festival with the help of the Red Cross societies of Taiwan and China. As part of a detainee swap, Chinese police also returned seven Taiwanese criminals arrested in China to Taiwanese authorities. The 94 stowaways will face judicial investigations in China, officials said. The Central News Agency reported that the boat carrying the stowaways, which set sail from Fuao Wharf in Nangan, Matsu, at 10:30am yesterday, had safely arrived in Mawei harbor in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, later yesterday.
■ SOCIETY
Amis hold rain ritual
The Amis Tribe of Chenggong Township (成?, Taitung County, yesterday held a ceremony to pray for rain, a traditional ritual that hasn’t been performed for the past 50 years. About 150 Amis, led by their leader, participated in the ceremony on the beach of Bal Wong Wong, with leaders from neighboring tribes in attendance to learn more about reviving their own tradition. As many of the younger members of the tribe have left the region, middle-aged men performed the ritual traditionally done by the young of carrying water and of catching an imaginary bird at the beginning of the ceremony. After the ritual, the men were welcomed by women carrying leaves of the Alpinia speciosa. Together, they sang and prayed for rain.
■ TOURISM
Chinese tourists 'satisfied'
Chinese tourists are generally satisfied with their sightseeing trips to Taiwan, but a majority are unhappy with the traffic in Taipei, a survey released on Monday showed. Taipei City Councilor Dai Hsi-chin (戴錫欽) told a council meeting that he had conducted the survey with the help of various travel agencies and had collected 490 valid responses. The survey showed that 65 percent of respondents were satisfied with their hotel rooms and services, and 64 percent enjoyed the food in Taiwan. However, 86 percent said they were dissatisfied with the traffic in Taipei, especially the lack of parking spaces for buses near the city’s tourist attractions. The survey also found that the Chinese tourists stayed for an average of 1.5 days in Taipei and spent an average of 14,668 yuan (NT$70,166) in the city. Lin Li-yu (林麗玉), deputy director of Taipei City’s Department of Transportation, said the department had been working with businesses and concerned authorities to solve the parking problems around the city’s tourist spots.
■ CRIME
Illegal pesticides seized
Law enforcement officers raided 18 locations around the country on Monday and seized nearly 100 tonnes of semi-finished illegal pesticides and precursors, the Taoyuan office of the Investigation Bureau said in a statement. Taoyuan office investigators, along with officials from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health and prosecutors from various district courts, stormed 18 locations in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Yunlin, Tainan and Kaohsiung counties. They arrested a chief suspect, identified by the surname Wang, and his seven accomplices. Investigators in Taoyuan found that the group began to import the illegal pesticides and its precursor last year, passing them off through customs as “chemical products.” They said the investigation was continuing, as they suspected that a few well-known domestic pesticide companies might have assisted in the marketing of the illegal products.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘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
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