DIPLOMACY
Envoy speaks about Taiwan
Paris believes that forcing a confrontation with China over Taiwan is not in the best interests of the West, and the nation’s ambiguous status might be the best for all concerned, French Ambassador to the US Laurent Bili said on Thursday. “There is no middle ground between the West and China, and it’s better maybe to keep things under control and protect the status quo,” said Bili, a veteran diplomat whose past posts included serving as ambassador to Beijing. “There are certain issues, we have to think that maybe the status quo is the best that we can achieve,” Bili said. The US and France are getting closer on their policies toward China, he said, adding that the vocabulary the countries use to describe the challenge is now the same. “We are both speaking about derisking,” rather than decoupling, he said. “We also assume that China is both a partner sometimes, but also a competitor and, even more, a systemic rival. So I think in that way we are very close,” he said. Bili said that when French President Emmanuel Macron visited China in April, he “really called on [Chinese] President Xi Jinping [習近平] not to change the status quo by force and to refrain” from escalation over Taiwan.
CONSTRUCTION
Highwealth faces fine
A Ministry of Labor project investigating the 30 construction projects being conducted by Highwealth Construction Co yesterday showed 52 violations and 15 counts of construction suspensions, generating a fine of NT$2.52 million (US$82,205). Highwealth was involved in an incident on May 10 in Taichung in which a crane boom fell onto MRT tracks shortly before a train ran into it, killing one person and injuring 10. After the incident, the ministry launched a special, month-long investigation on safety hazards and risks at construction sites using stationary cranes. The investigation should be completed within two weeks, Occupational Safety and Health Administration official Chu Wen-yung (朱文勇) said yesterday.
CRIME
Murder suspect caught
A man in his 40s suspected of killing a Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) employee in Kaohsiung late on Thursday was injured yesterday morning when he jumped from the fourth floor of a building to avoid arrest, the Railway Police Bureau said. The suspect was caught after jumping out of a building in Renwu District (仁武) by railway police, who immediately rushed him to a nearby hospital, police said. A TRA employee surnamed Hung (洪) was found lying in blood without any vital signs on the floor of his office in Zuoying Station at 11:16pm on Thursday, the bureau’s Kaohsiung Precinct said. He was later declared dead at a hospital. The precinct launched a homicide investigation and identified the suspect after checking surveillance footage. Police did not disclose how the building was linked to the suspect, nor did they disclose any details on possible motives, saying only that an investigation was ongoing.
ENTERTAINMENT
Sam Smith to hold concert
Grammy Award-winning English singer-songwriter Sam Smith is to hold a concert at Taipei Arena on Oct. 9 at 7:30pm, the official Web site of the singer and Taiwan ticketing promoter KHAM Inc announced on Thursday. The show is to be a stop in the singer’s world “Gloria the Tour,” which celebrates Smith’s fourth studio album, Gloria, which was released on Jan. 27.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
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
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
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,
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