CRIME
Relatives held over killing
Three people in Yunlin County were detained on Friday following the death of a family member who is believed to have been beaten to death, prosecutors said. The detainees are the parents and brother of a 28-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳), who was taken to a hospital early on Friday after he lost consciousness, the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday in a news release. Chen had cardiac arrest before he arrived at the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate him failed, prosecutors said. Preliminary investigations indicated that Chen was tied up and beaten unconscious at his home in the county’s Huwei Township (虎尾). The main suspects are his parents and younger brother, a Yunlin prosecutor surnamed Chu (朱) said. The three family members have been detained on suspicion of inflicting injuries that resulted in death, possibly after collusion, Chu said. The exact cause of death is to be determined after an autopsy, Chu said, adding that the circumstances leading to the fatality are still being investigated.
TRAFFIC
Top speeding spot named
An eastbound section of Civic Boulevard has been labeled the No. 1 speeding spot in Taipei after it was revealed to be the area where the most tickets for excessive speeding were issued, the Taipei City Police Department said yesterday. From July to October, 456 tickets were issued for excessive speeding on the section between Linsen N Road and Jinshan N Road, it said. In Taiwan, the definition of excessive speeding refers to surpassing the maximum speed limit by 40kph or more. It was lowered from 60kph after the country imposed a slew of stricter traffic rules from June 30 following an amendment to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The maximum fine for severe speeding has been raised from NT$24,000 to NT$36,000, and vehicle registration plates are confiscated for six months. The surface-level Civic Boulevard is an accident-prone area due to the high number of U-turn sections, as well as entrances and exits to underground parking lots, it said.
SOCIETY
Mandarin competition held
Three US students on Tuesday won the top prizes in the Foreign Students Chinese Public Speaking Competition, in which 68 students from 15 countries competed, said the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, which organized the event. Each contestant was given five minutes to speak about one of five assigned topics: “My observations of Taiwan’s election culture,” “The one thing I find most surprising about Taiwan,” “Is the gender column necessary on [Taiwan’s] National Identification Card?” “How has artificial intelligence [AI] impacted humankind?” and “Should you offer people compliments or criticism?” They were graded on their speech content, delivery, posture and time management. Kyle Kaczorowski, who won third place and NT$12,000 in prize money, spoke about the potential risks of AI in academia and politics if its use was unregulated, and, to illustrate his point, he revealed that he wrote the introduction of his speech using only ChatGPT. Norbert Sanchez, who placed second, spoke about Taiwan’s elections and compared Taiwan’s electoral system with that of the US. Sean McEvoy won first place and NT$20,000 in prize money for his speech on whether people should give others compliments or criticism. Apart from the top three winners, there was a fourth-place winner and six “superior” prize winners.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
RSS