CRIME
Man sentenced for weed
A man was sentenced to five years and six months in prison for growing marijuana and making cigarettes, cream and chocolate out of the flowering plant categorized as a Category II narcotic, a Changhua District Court document released on Friday said. The court document said that the man, surnamed Tseng (曾), purchased 50 marijuana seeds for NT$25,000 from a person known as “Tank” on social media, and grew 50 marijuana plants based on YouTube video tutorials. In his defense, Tseng said he had been diagnosed with depressive disorders and that the marijuana products were for his personal use, the document said. Although there is no evidence to indicate that Tseng grew cannabis to sell and make a profit, he was sentenced to five years and six months according to the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防治條例), the court said.
CULTURE
Musicians spotlight history
A group of musicians are to display 400 years of Taiwanese history in their performance of the Formosa Story in concerts in the German cities of Leipzig, Berlin, Stuttgart and Munich from today through Saturday. Music promoter Ho-Hai-Yan Arts, which has an office in Germany, invited the group consisting of pianist couple Lina Yeh (葉綠娜) and Rolf-Peter Wille, as well as violinists Su Shien-ta (蘇顯達) and Lin Ching-ju (林錦如), to take concertgoers on a journey of Taiwanese history through music and lyrics. The performances would blend the works of European composers such as Mozart and Richard Strauss with pieces by Japanese master Kosaku Yamada and Taiwanese masters Kuo Chih-yuan (郭芝苑) and Hsiao Tyzen (蕭泰然), Wille said.
OBITUARY
Phyllis Gomda Hsi dies
Taiwanese vocalist and music professor Phyllis Gomda Hsi (席慕德) passed away at the age of 85 on Tuesday last week, Hsi’s niece the pianist Solungga Liu (劉芳慈) wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. Liu said that her aunt passed away peacefully in her sleep in a nursing facility, where she had lived since the beginning of this month. Liu said Hsi had been relatively healthy leading up to her passing. Born in Beijing in 1938, Hsi attended National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), where she majored in vocal music with a minor in piano. Hsi studied at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Munchen in Germany in 1962, and became a soprano with Germany’s Theater Regensburg following her graduation. From 1969 to 1971, Hsi toured Southeast Asian countries twice to perform lieder — German art songs — at the behest of the Goethe-Institut Munchen. Hsi dedicated her career to training Taiwanese musicians before honing her talents in New York in 1975 by studying under US operatic soprano Eleanor Steber. She returned to NTNU in 1985 to continue teaching until her retirement in 2003.
DIPLOMACY
MOUs penned with Poland
Taiwan and Poland have signed two memorandums of understanding (MOU) on electric vehicles and hydrogen energy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Wednesday. The MOUs were signed by both sides during the 11th Taiwan-Poland Economic Consultations meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday, the ministry said, adding that the meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) and Polish Secretary of State for Economic Development and Technology Grzegorz Piechowiak.
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
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
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