POLITICS
Chang tapped for APEC
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has appointed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) as her envoy to next month’s APEC summit, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Chang is to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, which is scheduled to be held from Nov. 15 to 17 in San Francisco, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said in a press release. Under the Tsai administration, Chang has excelled in the role of the president’s envoy, successfully carrying out the duties assigned to him by Tsai at five previous APEC meetings, from 2018 to last year, Lin said. Those duties included engaging with other APEC leaders, enhancing Taiwan’s global visibility, and conveying the country’s willingness and ability to contribute to the international community, Lin said. Chang, 92, is the founder of TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, and he has served as the president’s envoy to APEC seven times. He first attended the annual APEC summit on behalf of Taiwan’s president in 2006, during the administration of then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). While the heads of government of all APEC members usually attend the annual Economic Leaders’ Meeting, Taiwan’s leaders have not been permitted to do so, due to China’s objection.
SOCIETY
Mahjong referendum denied
The Central Election Commission (CEC) on Friday rejected a proposed referendum on decriminalizing gambling on mahjong in public for elderly people with stakes of less than NT$1,000. The proposal, initiated by Kuo Hsi (郭璽), founder and chair of the Taiwan Mahjong Greatest Party, sought to allow people aged 65 or older to legally bet amounts lower than NT$1,000 on mahjong games in public. A hearing was held on July 17, after which Kuo was asked to submit a revised proposal. The CEC held a second meeting on Friday to examine the revised proposal, but it still turned it down, because it “did not meet the legal requirements,” the commission said in a press release, without providing any other details. In its current form, Article 266 of the Criminal Code makes gambling in public or via electronic or virtual means punishable by a fine of up to NT$50,000. While the law does contain an exception for gambling that is done “for temporary amusement,” it does not clearly define the term or set a ceiling on how much can be wagered.
CRIME
Three die in Taoyuan
Taoyuan prosecutors are investigating an alleged murder-suicide case in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅), in which a suspect, surnamed Cheng (鄭), allegedly stabbed to death a couple, then jumped off a building to his death. Police first received a report of a man falling off a building on Tuesday night, then found a couple’s bodies at their home, apparently killed by knife wounds. Prosecutors identified the couple as a man surnamed Hung (洪), 54, and his wife, surnamed Hoang, 42, originally from Vietnam, who had reportedly been involved in romantic relations with Cheng, 48. Neighbors said the couple were married for more than 10 years, but were once divorced, then remarried. Neighbors said Hoang had a relationship with Cheng when the couple were divorced. Later, Cheng harassed Hoang over her returning to Hung. Due to constant harassment by Cheng, the couple in July applied for a “restraining order” mandating Cheng to stay away, according to Taoyuan prosecutors.
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
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