CRIME
Media personality indicted
Prosecutors yesterday indicted media personality Lucifer Chu (朱學恒) on charges of indecent assault following a probe into claims he groped and forcibly kissed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Pei-chun (鍾沛君) at a restaurant on Aug. 6 last year. Chu could face between six months and five years in prison if found guilty, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. In a social media post on June 8, Chung wrote that a few days after the incident, she, accompanied by her lawyer, had demanded that Chu write and sign a letter of apology and to promise to stay away from her. However, Chu’s letter made no mention of the “indecent assault,” Chung said. She later filed a complaint with prosecutors against Chu, who she said had shown “no remorse for his behavior.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
EDUCATION
Mandarin immersion offered
National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) yesterday said that a Mandarin immersion school at its Kaohsiung campus operated by the Vermont-based Middlebury College is to begin enrolling US college students in spring next year. Students at the Middlebury School in Taiwan are to take classes in culture, politics, media, translation, geography, history, religion, environment, economics and literature taught entirely in Chinese, NSYSU said in a statement. The school, which was established following a visit by Middlebury College’s dean of international programs Carlos Velez-Blasini to the university earlier this year, requires students to sign a “language pledge” promising to speak the local language for the duration of their stay in Kaohsiung, the statement added. Enrollment is open to US students who have studied Mandarin in college for at least two years, NSYSU president Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said.
POLITICS
Presidential debates coming
The first televised policy presentation for candidates contesting the Jan. 13 presidential election is to be held on Dec. 20, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said yesterday. The candidates will be able to present their policies in three televised sessions: Dec. 20, 7pm; Dec. 26, 2pm; and Dec. 28, 7pm, the CEC said in a statement. A similar session is scheduled for vice presidential candidates at 7pm on Dec. 22. The presentations are not the same as debates where candidates can quickly respond to the claims of rivals. Instead, there will be three rounds, with each candidate given 10 minutes to present their views in each round. However, they can respond to comments another candidate made in those 10 minutes.
TRAVEL
Cathay cancels Israel flights
Cathay Pacific Airways yesterday said it has suspended all flights on its Hong Kong-Tel Aviv route until the end of the year, effective immediately, due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Passengers already on their way to the airport who have yet to receive a notification about the suspension should check their flight’s status using the booking management service on Cathay’s Web site, the Hong Kong-based carrier said in a statement. Passengers who have yet to travel can apply for a full refund, with Taiwan-based ticket holders advised to contact Cathay’s local customer service line at (02) 7752-4883. For those who have booked tickets to depart for Israel after Dec. 31 and wish to change their travel plans, the airline said it offers ticket-exemption measures to provide flexible options.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the