CRIME
Cody Wilson sent to US
Cody Wilson, a US citizen who fled to Taiwan after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in Texas, was yesterday escorted by National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where he was put on a 10pm flight to Houston. Taiwanese aviation security officers were expected to accompany Wilson on the flight and US law enforcement would board to arrest Wilson after the airplane lands in Houston, sources said. Wilson was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau in a cheap hotel in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) on Friday evening. NIA official Chang Wen-hsiu (張文秀) yesterday said that the US on Friday sent a notice to Taiwan, saying that Wilson’s passport had been revoked, which made Wilson’s stay in Taiwan illegal. After Wilson’s arrest in Taipei, his lawyer contacted the NIA on Friday, saying that Wilson was willing to leave Taiwan, Chang said, adding that the lawyer said his willingness to leave Taiwan came after negotiations with US prosecutors.
WEATHER
Storm might affect Taiwan
A tropical storm has formed over the Pacific, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Tropical Storm Trami, which was 2,150km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) in southern Taiwan as of 8am yesterday, was moving west-northwest at 23kph toward Japan’s Okinawa. Although Trami is expected not to affect Taiwan in the short term, it is forecast to come closest to Taiwan on Thursday or Friday, bringing rain to the northern and eastern parts of the country, the bureau said. Trami could affect Taiwan if it continues to gain strength and develops into a typhoon by Thursday or Friday, meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said.
HEALTHCARE
Care rule change proposed
As many as 28,000 households could benefit from a proposed loosening of regulations governing applications for respite care services when their regular foreign caregivers take time off, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Thursday. The rule change, which could be adopted as soon as November, would allow those who qualify to apply for a maximum of 21 days of respite care annually without having to go through a 30-day waiting period without care, which is the situation at present, Long-term Care Services Division official Chou Tao-chun (周道君) said. If implemented, the provision would initially focus on applicants who are severely disabled with limited support, such as individuals who live alone or are older than 75, Chou said. According to the plan, low-income households would be fully subsidized for respite care services, while middle-low-income and general households would be required to pay 5 percent and 16 percent of costs respectively.
SPORTS
Team wins tug-of-war gold
Taiwanese athletes yesterday snagged another gold medal at the Tug of War International Federation World Outdoor Championships in South Africa, giving Taiwan six gold medals at this year’s championship, with other events still being contested. The tug-of-war team from Taipei Jingmei Girls’ High School and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) defeated the host country to win the women’s under-23 500kg title. On Friday, another team of students from Jingmei Girls’ High School and NTNU won a gold medal in the women’s 500kg tug-of-war after defeating Switzerland 2-0 in the finals.
‘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
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
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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