IMPORTS
Strawberry issues continue
Fresh strawberries from Japan will remain subject to batch-by-batch border inspections after two more shipments of the fruit were found to contain pesticides, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. The shipments totaling 227.4kg supplied by Toyomarusyouzi Co and City Seika Narita Shuo Co would be returned to the country of origin or destroyed, it said. Sample testing on Dec. 2 found the strawberries from Toyomarusyouzi contained 1.2 parts per million (ppm) of acetamiprid, higher than the permitted limit of 1ppm, and acequinocyl-hydroxyl — a banned pesticide — was also detected in the fruit, FDA deputy head Lin Chin- fu (林金富) said. The strawberries from City Seika Narita Shuo were found to have excessive levels of flonicamid, an insecticide, Lin said. Of the 1,084 batches of Japanese strawberries inspected from Jan. 1 to Dec. 18, 19 failed to meet Taiwan’s safety standards, mostly because they were found to have excessive pesticide residues. Due to the ongoing problems, Taiwan will continue to inspect every shipment of strawberries from Japan until April 30, Lin said.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
DIPLOMACY
Somaliland official to visit
Somaliland Electoral Commission chairman Musa Hassan Yousuf is to visit Taiwan next week to learn about the nation’s election process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The Somaliland delegation is to arrive on Wednesday next week for a six-day visit, Department of West Asian and African Affairs acting deputy director-general Chen Yung-po (陳詠博) said. The delegation is to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and attend a banquet hosted by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Remus Chen (陳立國), Chen Yung-po said. It is also to visit the Central Election Commission, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the international affairs offices of major political parties to learn about Taiwan’s election process, regulations and the role of administrative departments, he said. The delegation is scheduled to meet with groups to learn about citizen participation and their efforts to supervise the government, he said. The trip can help enhance understanding between Taiwan and Somaliland and further deepen bilateral exchanges, he added.
DIPLOMACY
Czech Republic deal inked
Taiwan and the Czech Republic on Friday last week signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in a bid to boost commercial operations between the two sides, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The MOU covered the Business Opportunities Enhancement Program and was signed by David Steinke, head of the Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, and Ke Liang-ruey (柯良叡), Taiwan’s representative to the Czech Republic, the ministry said. The MOU says that the Czech Republic will establish a “Czech Center” in Taiwan to better make use of the resources available in the country and deepen connections between the two sides. The two sides would also set up platforms to pursue more economic, technological and cultural exchanges, it said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
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
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
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