CRIME
Ex-councilor sentenced
Former Tainan Council speaker Lai Mei-hui (賴美惠) was handed a two-year jail sentence, suspended for four years, after being found guilty of fraudulently claiming expenses, the Tainan District Court said on Wednesday. The former Democratic Progressive Party city councilor was also ordered to complete 200 hours of community service within three years and would be deprived of civil rights for two years, the court said. The ruling can be appealed. While serving as a Tainan councilor from 2010 to 2018, Lai hired her sister-in-law, surnamed Chen (陳), as an assistant to manage her office finances and another woman, surnamed Wu (吳).The three were charged with claiming assistant subsidy fees under the names of Wu’s sister and a friend of Lai’s sister, despite neither of them working as an assistant. From 2012 to 2014, Lai, Chen and Wu stole NT$2.35 million (US$74,435) from the public purse. The money was used to cover office expenses, including cash for red and white envelopes handed out to the public at weddings and funerals, the court said. Lai has surrendered the funds, which have been confiscated, the court added.
SPACE
Lilium-1 releases selfie
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) on Wednesday released two selfies taken by Lilium-1, an university-developed cube satellite. The selfies, the first to be taken by a Taiwanese satellite, showed Lilium-1 passing over Australia facing the sun with its solar panels unfolded. Carried by a SpaceX rocket, Lilium-1 was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California into a low Earth orbit (LEO) of about 520km on Dec. 2 last year, NCKU said in a statement. Lilium-1 was the first satellite to be launched as part of a National Science and Technology Council project that is focused on researching and developing key CubeSat technologies, NCKU said in the statement, adding that a team consisting of personnel from NCKU, National Taiwan University and National Taiwan University of Technology and Tamkang University, as well as industry professionals, collaborated in the development of Lilium-1. The team would continue to work on developing and launching CubeSats Lilium-2 and Lilium-3, and would explore areas including high-frequency satellite communications, inter-satellite communications and smart remote sensing.
TRADE
Group urges China ties
A trade group on Wednesday urged president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to strengthen communication between Taiwan and China to maintain positive international relations. Lin Por-fong (林伯豐), chairman of the Third Wednesday Club, said that Taiwan should not rely exclusively on Japan and the US, as it also needs to engage in dialogue with China. Constructive communication and exchanges are essential for both sides to resolve their issues, Lin told reporters after holding the trade group’s monthly gathering. “Without the consent of China, Taiwan will find it challenging to go it alone,” Lin said. Joining trade pacts or blocs would also help boost Taiwan’s economy — whether it be the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan and China, or proposed membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Lin said. In addition, Lin called on the new government to reassess its energy policies, adding that maintaining stable electricity prices should be a top priority for business operations.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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
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