FISHERIES
Fishing crew free on bail
A Taiwanese fishing boat and its five crewmen that were detained by Japanese authorities on Thursday for sailing into Japan’s territorial waters have been released after bail was arranged, the Suao Fishermen’s Association said yesterday. The Suao-registered longline fishing boat, the Sheng Fu Chin No. 26, was seized by a boat belonging to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries about 28 nautical miles (52km) northwest of Ishigaki Island. The five-person crew consisting of Tawainese skipper Wu Wan-cai (伍萬彩) and four Indonesians, were arrested for illegal cross-border fishing, the association said. The boat and the crew were released after the ship’s owner put up bail of ¥4 million (US$39,000), it said, adding that it was not sure when the ship would return to Taiwan. Wu told Japanese authorities that he was heading toward Japanese waters to retrieve fishing gear drifting in that direction when the boat suffered a mechanical failure and crossed into Japanese territory accidentally.
DIPLOMACY
Vietnam’s PM thanks Taiwan
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Thursday praised Taiwan’s contribution to his nation’s economic development and expressed deep regret for the damage suffered by Taiwanese businesses during last month’s anti-China riots. Dung made the remarks while meeting a delegation led by Council of Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce in Vietnam chairwoman Liu Mei-te (劉美德), according to Vietnamese VTV9’s Web site. “Taiwan is one of Vietnam’s successful investment partners, and Taiwanese businesspeople serve as the bridge to link the close ties between the two sides,” Dung was quoted as saying. Liu expressed gratitude for the Vietnamese government’s support, and called for tax reductions to help the businesses that have suffered return to normal operation. Liu said that despite the riots, Taiwan’s businesses will still continue expanding their investments in Vietnam. The riots erupted on May 13 after Vietnamese crowds took to the streets to protest against a Chinese oil-drilling venture in an area of the South China Sea that is also claimed by Hanoi.
ENTERTAINMENT
Golden Melody ad released
A 30-second TV commercial for the 25th Golden Melody Awards was released yesterday to promote the annual event, which is to be held late this month. Featuring some of the nation’s biggest music stars, including Jay Chou (周杰倫), Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹, A-mei) and Jody Chiang (江惠), the commercial was directed by award-winning music video director Bill Chia (賈弘源). Chou, known as the king of Mandarin pop, Chiang, the diva of Taiwanese-language music, and “Pride of Taiwan” A-mei have racked up 132 nominations and 29 Golden Melody awards between them. The 25th Golden Melody Awards ceremony will be held at Taipei Arena on June 28, and the Taiwan Television Enterprise, which is hosting the awards show, is to broadcast the red carpet event and the ceremony live beginning at 5pm.
SOCIETY
Chinese identity poll released
A recent survey showed that less than 50 percent of Taiwan’s people recognized themselves as Chinese in the second quarter of this year. This was the first time the figure has dropped below 50 percent since the first quarter of last year, Hsieh Ming-hui (謝明輝), executive director of the Taiwan Competitiveness Forum (TCF), said on Thursday.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we