■SOCIETY
Centenarian numbers grow
The number of centenarians in the country has reached 1,223 as life expectancy in Taiwan continues to increase, a report released yesterday by the Ministry of the Interior showed. The data came from the annual census of centenarians conducted ahead of the Oct. 26 Double Ninth Festival that honors seniors. All citizens born before Dec. 31, 1909 were counted. The census found that 1,135 (92.8 percent) of the centenarians were between 100 and 104 years of age, while 84 were between 105 and 109 and four were 110 or older. The average age was 101.48. Women far outnumbered men: 853 to 370. The oldest centenarian is a 116-year-old woman in Kaohsiung City. A 113-year-old Hualien County man is the second-oldest.
■POLITICS
DPP threatens to sue
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said yesterday the party would file a lawsuit if Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) or her former husband, Wu Chun-li (吳俊立), runs in the Taitung legislative by-election. The by-election was called after KMT Legislator Justin Huang (黃健庭) resigned on Thursday to dedicate himself to running in the Taitung County commissioner election. There have been rumors for a while that Huang would step down to leave the seat open for either Kuang or Wu to run in exchange for their supporting his commissioner bid. Kuang had initially insisted on seeking reelection, but just a few days ago threw her support behind Huang. “It would prove that there was a deal between Huang, Wu and Kuang if Wu or Kuang registers to run in the by-election,” Hsiao said. “The DPP will sue it if that happens.”
■SOCIETY
Decision on Centrum soon
Consumers will soon get a clear answer on whether Centrum vitamins are a food or medicine, Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) said. The Department of Health considers Centrum a medicine because of its high vitamin content. “I will ask the Department of Health to make a decision by the end of this year,” said Chu, who is also chairman of the Consumer Protection Commission. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) has complained that one bottle of Centrum in April costs about three times more in Taiwan than it would in the US.
‘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 High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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