CRIME
Taiwanese returned: CIB
Three Taiwanese in Georgia, who were forced into a telecom fraud operation, were returned to Taiwan safely months ago, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday in response to media reports that a Taiwanese gang was allegedly operating a fraud ring in the European nation. The bureau said that in May it had received reports of three Taiwanese being held captive in Georgia and forced to engage in telecom fraud. Some of the 400 Taiwanese and Chinese in the hotel utilized by the ring were tricked into entering the country, while others went voluntarily, although they expected to be compensated, the bureau said. It liaised with its office in the Netherlands and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to extract the three in June and July, and has opened an investigation into the case, the bureau said. It also said that there appears to have been Taiwanese operating a criminal enterprise in Georgia, with its members entering the country on a third passport, although they reportedly moved to Southeast Asia last month after attracting attention from local law enforcement.
DIPLOMACY
German agreement inked
Taiwan and Germany yesterday signed an agreement to establish a commission to promote and facilitate exchanges at the civil society level, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The agreement was signed remotely by Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉), who is based in Berlin, and German Deputy Representative to Taiwan Andreas Hofem in Taipei, the ministry said in a news release. Initiated by the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, the agreement is aimed at establishing a platform for enhanced bilateral dialogue at the level of civil society, the ministry said. The German office said in a news release that the commission would comprise 24 members — 12 from each side — and be headed by two chairs. German lawmaker Reinhard Butikofer has been named as one cochair and former National Chengchi University professor Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華) has been named as the other, releases by the two sides said. The commission is to be launched next year and is to meet once a year, alternating between Germany and Taiwan, the German office said. The agreement is the third to be signed by the two sides this year, the other two being pacts on technology collaboration and judicial cooperation on criminal matters, the ministry said.
HEALTH
CDC nears vaccine goal
More than 6 million doses of publicly funded influenza vaccines have been administered this year, including to nearly half of people aged 65 or above, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Since its rollout on Oct. 2, 6.018 million doses of the flu vaccine had been administered, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) told reporters. In terms of age, 2.08 million people aged 65 or above, or 49.8 percent of that age group, have received a shot, just shy of the government’s goal of 55 percent, Lo said. In the 50-to-64 age group, 15.4 percent, or 813,000 people, have been vaccinated, as have 70,000 people aged 19 to 49 with chronic illnesses or other factors that put them at risk of severe complications from infection, he said. As of yesterday, 561,000 doses remained unadministered, he said, adding that the CDC would consider purchasing additional doses based on demand. The flu season typically begins in November and winds down in March.
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
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,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
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