■POLITICS
Combined election date set
The Central Election Commission decided yesterday to combine the elections for county and city heads and councilors, as well as township mayors, on Saturday, Dec. 5. Council Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (鄧天祐) told a news conference after the meeting that the elections would be held together to cut down on expenses. The combined election would be held from 7am to 5pm that day, giving voters two more hours than the usual 8am to 4pm voting hours. Commission members also heard the dual citizenship case of former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator George Liu (劉寬平), who only formally gave up his US citizenship in 2007 after he finished his term as legislator from 2005 to 2007. Teng said the commission would not make a decision on revoking Liu’s elected status until after they collect relevant documents.
■POLITICS
KMT pushing assets revision
The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Clean Government Committee is pushing for the early enactment of an amendment to the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) that would lead to the prosecution of civil servants holding assets whose sources cannot be identified. The committee resolved on Tuesday to invite Legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世), the executive director of the party’s Central Policy Committee, to brief the anti-corruption committee next month on progress made in pushing the amendment through the Legislative Yuan. Lin said he hoped the amendment could be passed this legislative session so that it can take effect as soon as possible. The amendment would hold public officials criminally liable if they cannot account for assets in their possession.
■SOCIETY
Asians sexually unhappy
Fifty-seven percent of men and 64 percent of women in the Asia-Pacific region are dissatisfied with their sex lives, news reports said yesterday. Respondents in only three of the 13 countries where the pharmaceutical firm Pfizer conducted a survey reported satisfaction rates of more than 50 percent. India ranked the highest with 73 percent of respondents to the Asia-Pacific Sexual Health and Overall Wellness survey saying they were satisfied. India was followed by the Philippines at 52 percent, Taiwan at 51 percent and New Zealand at 40 percent. Japan ranked the lowest at 10 percent. The survey by the company that makes Viagra was also conducted in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. It was conducted from May to July last year among 2,016 sexually active men and 1,941 sexually active women aged 25 to 74.
■VISAS
HK, Macau visas extended
The National Immigration Agency yesterday announced that the duration for landing visas or electronic visas for residents of Hong Kong and Macau would be extended to 30 days from 14 days, effective immediately. In other changes, the Ministry of the Interior announced that individuals deemed to be victims of human trafficking could bypass the visa application process if he or she agrees to help with official investigations. Individuals would be asked to stay in Taiwan as long as necessary to help with ongoing court cases. Meanwhile, missionaries must pass a government agency review process before being permitted to apply for residency in Taiwan, the ministry said.
■RESOURCES
Kinmen wants Chinese water
Kinmen County Commissioner Lee Chu-feng (李柱烽) urged the Cabinet yesterday to allow the island to import potable water from China to solve water shortages. Doing so would also provide an alternative to local water that has long been criticized for its quality, Lee said. He raised the issue ahead of a meeting of the Council for Economic Planning and Development next week that will review the feasibility of a proposal by the Water Resources Agency to import water from China.
■CRIME
Robber leaves his number
A man was arrested over the theft of NT$5,000 from a computer engineer after leaving his phone number with his victim, local television reports said yesterday. The engineer was collecting money at a cash machine in Taichung County on Tuesday night when the man threatened him with a knife, cable news network ETTV said. The robber demanded more money from the engineer, who told him he could borrow NT$20,000 from his friends. The robber then left his phone number with the engineer, who gave it to police, ETTV said.
■CRIME
Court upholds Yeh sentence
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a district court’s verdict that sentenced former Procomp Informatics Co chairwoman Sophie Yeh (葉素菲) to 14 years in prison and a fine of NT$180 million (US$5.2 million) for her role in a NT$7 billion accounting fraud at the chipmaker. Yeh can still appeal. The Shilin District Court handed down the original verdict in December 2005. The High Court said Yeh had misled investors over Procomp by overstating the company’s sales and that her actions led to massive losses for investors and the company.
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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