CRIME
Cannabis seized in Taoyuan
A shipment of about 6kg of smuggled cannabis was seized by customs officials at a cargo services center near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Thursday. The 6,225g of drugs were found stashed in two large boxes during a clearing inspection at Taiwan Air Cargo Terminal’s facility, one of the largest air cargo centers at the airport, the bureau said. The shipment was destined for Hualien County, it said. With the assistance of Hualien police, the find was later connected to a suspect surnamed Wu (吳), who said that he was only receiving the package on behalf of a friend in prison. The man was taken to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office for further questioning, the bureau said, adding that authorities would expand their search to see whether there are possible suspects in the case.
GOVERNANCE
Cultural center opened
The Ministry of Culture yesterday inaugurated the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center, which is to take over the promotion and preservation of Mongolian and Tibetan culture from the now-disbanded Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission. The commission was disbanded last month as part of a government restructuring plan, and its tasks and budgets were distributed among the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council. The Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center, housed on the former premises of the commission, is headed by Hsu Kuei-hsiang (徐桂香), who served as chief secretary of the commission. The center is also to supervise Mongolian and Tibetan cultural foundations, organize exhibitions, preserve historical documents and artifacts, and train talent in the field, the Ministry of Culture said.
MEDIA
MOJ accused of power abuse
The Control Yuan on Wednesday issued a reprimand to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), saying officials have been abusing their power and infringing on press freedom by investigating members of the media. According to the Control Yuan, its investigations have revealed that some ministry officials have been using lie detectors and accessing journalists’ phone records to investigate members of the media. In response, the ministry’s Agency Against Corruption issued a statement defending agency officials saying they were performing their official duties without the purview of a clear law. The agency said it would draft a law to define its duties and how its officials should carry them out independently while also protecting human rights.
IMMIGRATION
Tsai welcomes exchanges
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday stated her administration’s commitment to allow more foreign nationals to study in Taiwan at a reception for a delegation of Malaysian alumni of local universities. Tsai hosted the delegation of officers from the Federation of Alumni Associations of Taiwan Universities, Malaysia, reiterating her administration’s desire to promote more academic and cultural exchanges between both countries’ students, as part of the New Southbound Policy. The growing numbers of Malaysian students attending Taiwan’s universities have made campuses more diverse, she said. Tsai’s goal is to create a cross-national talent base in Asia that will benefit the whole region’s development, the Presidential Office said in a statement on the event. The government is working on policies to make sure that foreign nationals who want to stay and work could do so, Tsai added.
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
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of