LEGISLATURE
Tax hike passes screening
A draft amendment that seeks to raise the cigarette tax to help finance the government’s long-term care program passed an initial screening at the legislature yesterday. The Finance and the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene committees passed the draft amendment to the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act (菸酒管理法) in a joint meeting. If passed by the full legislature, the amendment would raise the tax on cigarettes from NT$590 per kilogram, or 1,000 cigarettes, to NT$1,590, which would translate into a tax of NT$31.8 per pack, up NT$20 from the current NT$11.8. Minister of Finance Sheu Yu-jer (許虞哲) said the hike is aimed at curbing smoking, promoting public health and would contribute NT$23.3 billion per year to the long-term care program, he said.
SOCIETY
Radio pioneer Tsui dies
Broadcaster and radio drama director Tsui Hsiao-ping (崔小萍) passed away on Saturday at National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei at the age of 94, Chinese-language media reported. Tsui, who was born in Jinan, China, studied at the National Drama College in Sichuan Province during the Second Sino-Japanese War. She first came to Taiwan on a drama tour in 1948. After the Republic of China government lost the Chinese Civil War in 1949, she settled in Taiwan. Tsui introduced radio drama to the nation in the early 1950s. She was arrested in 1968, accused of being a Chinese Communist Party member and sentenced to 14 years in prison. After her released in 1977, Tsui taught at the National Academy of Arts (now National Taiwan University of Arts), Shih Hsin School of Journalism (now Shih Hsin University) and Kuo Kuang Academy of Arts (now National Taiwan College of Performing Arts). She wrote a memoir, telling the story of her arrest, almost a decade in jail and her career, which was published in 2001.
SOCIETY
Ex-AIT official gets residency
A former US Army officer who worked at the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Taipei Office prior to his retirement last year was given a “plum blossom” permanent residency card on Saturday in recognition of his contribution to security cooperation between Taiwan and the US. Randy Hulme Lawrence, 53, was assigned to head the AIT’s technical section five years ago and was responsible for bilateral military cooperation. Lawrence said he was pleased to stay in Taiwan because he and his family love Taiwan. Lawrence earned a bachelor’s degree in Asian studies from University of Virginia and a master’s in security studies from the US Naval War College. From 2002 to 2005, he served as a military attache at the US consulate in Hong Kong and was stationed in China from 2008 to 2011.
CHARITY
Book sale set for TAS
The Taipei American School’s (TAS) Orphanage Club is to hold its annual book sale on Saturday from 10am to 5pm in the school’s forecourt, lobby and cafeteria. The club has collected thousands of books, as well as magazines, comic books, games and DVDs. The books include classics, best-sellers, biographies, children’s and young adult titles, cookbooks, books on hobbies and learning languages and books about Taiwan and other Asian nations. While most of the materials are in English, there are scores of Chinese-language books and magazines. The money raised from the sale provides funding for orphans and other children in Taiwan. Admission to the fair is free. The school is at 800 Zhongshan N Rd Sec 6, Tianmu (天母).
This story has been corrected since it was first published to indicate that the Orphanage Club book sale will be on Saturday, not Sunday.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
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