CRIME
Man sentenced for attack
A man who assaulted a station master at a Kaohsiung MRT station in August last year after being asked to refrain from smoking was sentenced to three months in jail, the Kaohsiung District Court ruled. According to court documents, it ruled in November that the 56-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), displayed a lack of respect for public authority by assaulting the station master, a woman surnamed Wang (王), who was carrying out her duties as a public servant. The incident happened at the Kaohsiung International Airport Station on Aug. 22 last year when Wang asked Chen to not smoke on the platform. In response, Chen physically attacked Wang, causing injuries to her head, face and left arm. Local law enforcement arrested Chen after being notified of the incident, and following an interrogation, Kaohsiung prosecutors indicted him on charges of causing injury to another individual. The Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp through its lawyers said that the violent attack had imposed mental stress on the staff. It said that Chen’s actions were not only disrespectful of public authority, but also posed a threat to social order and eroded public confidence in using the MRT. Chen later acknowledged his wrongdoing and the court sentenced him to three months in jail, which can be commuted to a fine. The ruling is subject to appeal.
CRIME
Aaron Yan’s request denied
The Shilin District Court has dismissed a motion by Taiwanese actor and singer Aaron Yan (炎亞綸) to remove a travel ban that was imposed after he was indicted in November last year on charges of filming and leaking intimate videos of a minor. The court said that the prohibition on Yan, which is in place until Feb. 25, is an appropriate security measure and that his rights to live and work in Taiwan had not been affected. Yan is a suspect in a serious crime, and he is required to be present in court to confirm facts and evidence, the court ruled. It also said that as a well-known celebrity who could work overseas, Yan clearly had the financial means to live abroad, and given those factors, the court dismissed the motion. Yan also asked the court to order the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reverse its decision not to approve the renewal of his passport while the travel ban was in place. The court rejected the request, saying Yan could file an administrative appeal against the ministry. Yan’s recent appeal came due to his overseas jobs scheduled this month, and he said that he did not pose a flight risk as he was not a foreign national, has a permanent residence in Taiwan and was cooperating with the investigation, according to the district court. Yan also said he needed to work overseas to make a living and save to settle this case and to donate to charity, according to the district court. The ruling can be appealed.
SOCIETY
Woman contacts Osaka office
Taiwan’s representative office in Osaka is assisting a Taiwanese woman who requested help after her home lost electricity and water in the wake of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that hit central Japan on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said the woman called the Osaka office after moving to a shelter established by the local government. The ministry said that Taiwanese in Japan can contact Taiwan’s main representative office in Tokyo at +81-80-1009-7179 or its Osaka branch office at +81-90-8794-4568 if they need any assistance.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
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
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
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
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