DEFENSE
Soldier injured by mortar
The Ministry of National Defense has launched a probe into an accident that occurred on Friday morning resulting in an army sergeant sustaining lacerations to his hands and left eyelid after he was apparently hit by a practice mortar round. The injured sergeant in the Army’s 109th Infantry Brigade, surnamed Fan (范), was reportedly hit by a practice round fired from a 120mm mortar training simulator while its range was undergoing maintenance, the ministry said in a statement. The practice round was not loaded with explosives, it said. The sergeant received medical attention at a hospital and was not in a critical condition, it said, adding that a task force has been created to investigate the accident.
SEISMICITY
Earthquake hits off Hualien
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck off Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 00:54am yesterday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter of the temblor was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hualien, 64.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 28.7km, a report released by the CWA’s Seismology Center indicated. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, was highest in Taitung’s Chenggong (成功) and Changbin (長濱) townships, as well as Hualien, where it registered as a 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 3 in Taitung’s Chishang (池上) and Donghe (東河) townships, and Changhua, Nantou and Chiayi counties, the CWA said.
SPORTS
Surfer dies in road crash
Indonesian professional surfer Febri Ansyah died on Friday morning from injuries suffered in a scooter crash, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. Febri’s scooter crashed into a tree and a road sign near the 128km mark on Provincial Highway 11 early on Friday. He later died from severe head wounds, the Taitung County Transportation and Tourism Development Department said. The 24-year-old was in Taitung to compete in this year’s Taiwan Open of Surfing, taking place at Jinzun Harbor from Monday until today. The county government, the competition’s organizer, suspended all events taking place yesterday morning and invited competitors to take part in a “paddle out” ceremony to commemorate Febri. Events were resumed yesterday afternoon, the county government said.
CRIME
Actor indicted over assault
Actor Chris Wang (宥勝) was indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday on suspicion of molesting a woman in 2016. According to the office, the alleged victim wrote about what happened to her on Facebook in June, about seven years after the alleged incident. It was then reported to the office by an anonymous person who read the post. The indictment alleged the incident occurred after Wang offered to take the woman home after work. Once there, Wang asked if he could use the bathroom before leaving, but he would not leave after relieving himself, the indictment said. Wang then touched the woman and allegedly tried to remove some of her clothing against her will, it said. Taipei prosecutors recommended that Wang be charged under Article 224 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that a person who commits an obscene act against another individual’s will should be given a jail sentence ranging from six months to a maximum of five years.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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