POLITICS
CEC appointments approved
The legislature yesterday approved the appointment of five new commissioners to the Central Election Commission (CEC), paving the way for the commission to go ahead with preparations for the Jan. 14 presidential and legislative elections. Three of the five commissioners, Kuo Yu-ying (郭昱瑩), Duan Chung-min (段重民) and Chai Sung-lin (柴松林), are incumbents whose two-year terms had expired, while Lin Tsyr-ling (林慈玲) and Chen Wen-sheng (陳文生) are new appointments. Lin is currently deputy minister of the interior and Chen is a university professor. The new appointments bring the the number of commissioners to 11, in accordance with the law. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators left the legislative floor before the vote. However, prior to departure, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said most of the five appointees were “on the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] side” and the DPP would not bother to oppose the appointments.
MEDIA
Fake bloggers to be fined
The government plans to fine bloggers who make false claims or exaggerate the effectiveness of products on behalf of companies as the number of consumer disputes soars, authorities said yesterday. The legislature on Monday started revising a law to make it possible to fine bloggers and other reviewers up to 10 times the payment they receive for engaging in false advertising, the Fair Trade Commission said. Media said some bloggers are paid up to NT$70,000 per review, which are often disguised as simple journal entries, while in fact they talk up products and services to lure customers. One recent dispute involved a blogger who received an average of 140,000 hits a day and fabricated photographs to exaggerate the effect of beauty products, reports said.
SOCIETY
Go’s Hsieh wins Honinbo
Taiwanese go prodigy Hsieh Yi-min (謝依旻) captured the title at the 30th Women’s Honinbo tournament on Monday to become the first female go player to win the event five years in a row and be awarded an Honorary Honinbo. Hsieh said in January that she would try to win 10 consecutive titles at the Honinbo. In Monday’s final, Hsieh defended her title with a 3-1 victory over challenger Mukai Chiaki, whom she also defeated in the Honinbo finals last year. Hsieh, who lives in Japan, has been the Honinbo champion since 2007. Her victory this year made her the first female go player to receive an Honorary Honinbo title, which is given to players for winning five consecutive tournaments.
SOCIETY
Teens walk for orphans
Twenty-two high-school students from three continents joined local students in Changhua County on Monday to walk 100km to raise funds for orphans in Africa. The students from Japan, the US, Canada, Kenya and Swaziland joined 75 Taiwanese to complete the walk, organized by the International High School Youth Leadership Conference at Changhua High School. The trek includes trips to local temples to ask for donations from the public. Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) pledged to donate NT$10,000 if the students reach their goal. Janine Maxwell, the founder of Heart for Africa — a nonprofit organization that brings sustainable technologies to rural African villages — is one of those joining the project and she described the good will of the students as priceless.
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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