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.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
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
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
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,
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