SOCIETY
Double Ten show in Chiayi
The Double Ten National Day fireworks display is to be held at the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum in Chiayi County on Monday, the committee responsible for National Day celebrations said. In addition to the 25,000 fireworks to be set off, a 360-degree dancing water display featuring a light sculpture projection and a sound and light show is to be staged during the 45-minute performance, the county’s Tourism Bureau said. Drones would also feature, accompanied by music performed by the Taipei Sinfonietta and Philharmonic Orchestra, it said, adding that the orchestra would play a range of pieces from traditional Taiwanese folk songs to songs by popular local singers and bands, such as Wu Bai (伍佰) and China Blue. A bazaar would be open from 2pm near the museum’s southern branch, selling local products and food at more than 400 stands, while 12,000 free parking spaces would be available, the county government said.
EARTHQUAKES
Three quakes hit east coast
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Hualien County early yesterday morning, and two hours later a magnitude 3.5 quake hit Taitung County, the Central Weather Bureau said. The hypocenter of the magnitude 5.3 quake, which occurred at 4:25am, was 58.2km south-southwest of Hualien County Hall in Fongbin Township (豐濱) at a depth of 23.5km, the bureau’s Seismology Center said. The hypocenter of the magnitude 3.6 quake, which hit at 6:30am, was 33.8km north of Taitung County Hall in Guanshan Township (關山) at a depth of 8km. An additional magnitude 3.5 quake struck at 8:16am. Its hypocenter was in Chihshang Township (池上), 32 km north of Taitung County Hall, at a depth of 7.6km, the bureau said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
TRAFFIC
Driver, 91, kills woman
A woman was killed and three others injured after a 91-year-old man who had had his license revoked reversed at high speed onto a sidewalk in Taoyuan’s Gueishan District (龜山) at 5:22pm on Saturday afternoon. The 91-year-old, surnamed Lee (李), reversed his car at high speed nearly 200m in the wrong direction, police said. Lee’s car clipped two scooter drivers waiting at an intersection, before running over a 13-year-old boy and his 51-year-old mother standing on the adjacent sidewalk and crashing into a tree, police said. The mother, surnamed Teng (鄧), was killed, while her son and the two scooter drivers were hospitalized. Police said no trace of alcohol was found in Lee’s system.
CRIME
Paiwan artist charged
Paiwan artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung was on Sept. 21 charged with offenses against sexual autonomy by Pingtung County prosecutors after an investigation that took nine months, according to court documents released last week. Sakuliu, 62, who received a National Award for Arts in 2018, was charged with sexual assault after allegations were made against him last year. The first accusation appeared in a piece titled Story of a Small Town posted online in December last year by artist Kuo Yu-ping (郭俞平), who described how a Paiwan artist she called Kulusa sexually assaulted a 19-year-old female fan earlier that same year. Many readers speculated that Sakuliu was the artist alluded to in the story and police launched an investigation. Days later, engineer Yu Yue-lien (余悅廉) said that Sakuliu had attempted to sexually assault her in the summer of 2006. Sakuliu has denied all allegations.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
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