Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) International Affairs Department Director Hsaio Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who has been leading a volunteer effort in Tainan County, said yesterday that on Thursday 20 volunteers were stopped by the police from distributing goods to the residents in badly affected Pitou Borough (埤頭) in Tainan County’s Madou (麻豆) Township because President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was visiting the area.
“It was ridiculous that we couldn’t go inside the borough to give the victims what they need because Ma was there,” she said.
She said that more than 10 police formed a human wall to block them from entering even though they were delivering much needed water and cleaning agents, she said.
Meanwhile, the military was forced to temporarily suspend relief work and stood in full salute in strong heat for 40 minutes on Wednesday to welcome Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-ming (陳肇敏), who arrived in Taitung to survey the disaster areas.
To expedite the rebuilding process, the Hualien-Taitung Defense Command Center dispatched more than 40 soldiers to build a Bailey bridge to allow access for 18-tonne vehicles to Jhihben Township (知本).
On Wednesday at 10am, while the troops were setting up the steel frame, their commander ordered them to stop work and stand in formation to welcome Chen, who spent 40 minutes listening to briefings and talking to the press.
One witness said many of the soldiers had complained privately that they would have rather worked than stand and listen to the defense minister.
On Wednesday, flood victims hurled angry insults at Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰), who went to the main rescue center and shelter in Cishan Township (旗山), Kaohsiung County, to pass out lunch boxes.
The victims told Wang there were enough volunteers and they did not need her to pass out food.
Wang jokingly responded that her purpose for being there was so that the victims could unleash their anger.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS