■ Politics
Nominations blocked
The Legislative Yuan yesterday decided to postpone its consideration of Control Yuan nominations made by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) owing to objections from opposition lawmakers. Chen's request for legislators to consent to the nominations was shelved during a meeting of the opposition-controlled Procedure Committee held to schedule the legislative agenda for next week. The pan-blue camp is dissatisfied with the nominations, especially that of Clement Chang (張建邦), who was nominated for Control Yuan president.
■ Justice
Death sentence times five
A man who admitted to killing six people, including five relatives, for NT$13.21 million (US$409,000) in insurance payments was sentenced to death for a record fifth time, a court official said yesterday. The Chiayi District Court on Monday meted out three death penalties to Chen Jui-chin (陳瑞欽), 54, for killing his three sons. Chen had previously received a life sentence and two other death sentences for murdering two wives and a third woman. An investigation found Chen had killed his first wife in 1985 while she was in hospital, picking up an insurance policy payout worth NT$2 million. Over the next several years, four insurance companies paid Chen a total of NT$11.21 million for the death of his son, Chen Chien-hung (陳建宏), in 1995 and two adopted sons murdered in 1988 and 1998. The investigation said Chen murdered his second wife in 1996 and murdered a third woman in May last year. The previous record number of death sentences awarded to an individual was three, meted out to a man after killing seven people.
■ Crime
Court backtracks on bomber
The Taiwan High Court late last night reversed a decision to release alleged gas bomber Kao Pao-chung (高寶中) on bail, saying the crime posed a potential threat to the nation. Although Kao, accused of having ignited a gas-filled minivan outside Taipei Railway Station two days before the legislative elections, was released by the Taipei District Court on bail of NT$100,000, Taipei City prosecutors appealed the decision last week. Taipei District Court will now rehear the case to decide whether to detain Kao. Kao will be subpoenaed to court again. Police say they've been monitoring Kao's whereabouts since he was released, and restrictions have been in place to prevent him from leaving the country.
■ Science
Satellite photos get push
The National Science Program Office (NSPO) yesterday signed a contract with National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), which will become one of the main domestic promoters of image products taken by ROCSAT-2, the nation's second satellite, also nicknamed FORMOSAT-2. According to the office, high-resolution images taken by ROCSAT-2 can be used in diverse fields, including disaster prevention, geological survey, environmental monitoring, crops development, land utilities, scientific research and other educational applications. "From now on, users can obtain satellite images through the channel of domestic promoters, including NTNU and other universities," office director Lance Wu (吳作樂) said. The university plans to incorporate satellite images into teaching materials in order to promote students' environmental knowledge.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
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