DIPLOMACY
Apostille agreement signed
An agreement to abolish the requirement to double-check public documents made with Nicaragua was signed on Wednesday last week to simplify document legalization procedures and promote bilateral exchanges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. The agreement was signed by Ambassador to Nicaragua Wu Chin-mu (吳進木) and Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs Denis Moncada, the ministry said in a news release. However, it would not be implemented until both nations complete their internal procedures, it said. Once the agreement goes into effect, documents from Taiwan would only need to be verified at the Bureau of Consular Affairs or at ministry offices in Taiwan before they can be used in Nicaragua, it said, adding that documents from Nicaragua to be used in Taiwan would only need to be verified in Nicaragua.
CHARITY
Huge rummage sale at TAS
After 48 years, the Taipei American School (TAS) Orphanage Club is to host its final rummage sale tomorrow from 10am to 5pm. The school no longer has space for the club to store the items it collects for its twice-a-year rummage sale and annual book sale, so the club is transporting 10 truckloads of items from its temporary storage space for a combined rummage and book blowout. There are thousands of books for readers and learners of all ages, household items, clothes, shoes and art ranging from Japanese Washi dolls in glass cases to handicrafts from Russia, Mongolia and Central America. All of the proceeds are to go to the club’s funds for needy children and orphans in Taiwan and overseas, for whom it has raised more than US$2 million since 1970. The school is at No. 800 Zhongshan N Road Sec 6 in Tianmu (天母).
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RSS