■ CRIME
He Yi-hang posts bail
TV entertainer He Yi-hang (賀一航) was released on NT$60,000 bail yesterday, after he admitted using and possessing drugs and selling them to prostitutes. He was arrested by Taoyuan police at his Taipei residence on Wednesday. Police discovered amphetamines and ketamine in his house. He told prosecutors he bought the drugs from a “heavyweight in the entertainment business.” Prosecutors and police are trying to determine whether more entertainers are involved in the case, either as dealers or clients, Taoyuan Prosecutor Yeh Yi-fa (葉益發) said. He’s involvement in the drug business was discovered when Taoyuan prosecutors and police were investigating the “Tsai-shen,” a major brothel in northern Taiwan. Police established that He was close to Yeh Ching-feng (葉青峰) and Hsu Lung-hsien (許龍仙), managers at the brothel. Yeh and Hsu were detained after prosecutors discovered they were engaged in loan sharking and allegedly “controlled” their prostitutes by feeding them drugs. Kuo was also released on NT$60,000 bail.
■ SOCIETY
Improve childcare: NGOs
Several non-governmental organizations said at a press conference yesterday that the nation’s low birth rate has much to do with its lack of a childcare system. In comparison to some Northern European countries where birth rates have been on the rise because of well-established childcare systems, Taiwan’s birth rate has dropped 37 percent in the last 10 years, said Liu Yu Hsiu (劉毓秀), head of the Coalition for Childcare Policy. Young couples have stopped wanting children, she said, linking the issue to the cost of daycare centers, which she described as profitable businesses that charge fees unaffordable for most parents. The government should draw up an affordable childcare plan to meet the needs of working class families and set up an autonomous committee to monitor childcare, she said.
■ HUMAN RIGHTS
Anti-trafficking event held
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Kaohsiung branch office and the Kaohsiung City Government hosted a press event yesterday to highlight the role that local governments and organizations play in fighting human trafficking. AIT Kaohsiung branch chief Chris Castro said he hoped that people around the world could work together to stop human trafficking wherever it occurs and to punish perpetrators. He said the AIT held the event in Kaohsiung because it was a city that has played a key role in defending democracy in Taiwan’s history. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said the city government respects the human rights of the more than 20,000 foreign workers in the city, adding that there was a 24-hour hotline service available if any problems arise.
■ ATHLETICS
Summer marathon to be held
For the first time ever, a marathon will be held at Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山) in suburban Taipei, tomorrow. About 5,000 runners, including 32 foreign participants, will compete in the Yangmingshan Summer Marathon on a scenic 42km route up and down hills, secretary-general of the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association Sunny Chen (陳華恒) said. The Yangmingshan marathon is the second in a series of four Ministry of the Interior-sponsored seasonal international marathons held in the country’s major national parks this year in a bid to attract more people to the country to experience its natural beauty.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
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