COMMERCE
Bookstore expanded
Eslite Spectrum Corp’s outlet in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei is to remain open around the clock, starting yesterday, nearly one month after the company closed its flagship Xinyi outlet. The Songyan outlet bookstore has been renovated and expanded to 1.5 times its original size, while its stock of books has been increased threefold, since the Xinyi all-hours store closed on Dec. 24 last year, Eslite Spectrum Corp senior director Chang Hsiao-ling (張曉玲) said. Since then, the number of customers at the Eslite Songyan store has tripled, and the increase is expected to continue with the launch of the outlet’s all-hoursoperations, she said. Usually, the Songyan store attracts about 2 million customers per year, Chang said, adding that she estimates the number would reach 6 million this year.
Last year, the number of customers at the Songyan outlet surged to 8 million, she said, attributing the sharp increase to the return of the Taiwan Lantern Festival to Taipei for the first time in 23 years and the opening of the Taipei Dome near the outlet.
With the start of all-hours operations at the Songyan outlet, the store’s annual revenue is likely to mirror the expansion of its book stock, rising this year by an estimated 30-40 percentage points, Chang said.
CRIME
Taichung pair found dead
Taichung police are investigating the cause of death of a divorced couple found inside a parked vehicle at a local fast food restaurant in Nantun District (南屯). When emergency responders first arrived at the scene after police received a report at 1:34pm on Friday, they found two people without vital signs inside the vehicle, police said. The woman, who was in the driver’s seat, had multiple lacerations to her face and neck, police said, adding that the male passenger seated beside her had similar wounds. The deceased were later identified as a 67-year-old man surnamed Chi (戚), who was found to have had a record of domestic violence, and a 55-year-old woman surnamed Chen (陳). The two were a formerly married couple who had signed a divorce agreement last week and appeared in a family court on Thursday, police said. Based on video footage taken from surveillance cameras in the area, Chi and Chen arrived at the fast food restaurant in their vehicle at around 8am on Friday and parked there for an extended period of time. An employee of the restaurant noticed the car had not left by 1pm and came to check on them, only to see the two individuals with stab wounds.
CRIME
Waste dumpers jailed
Twenty-one people in a crime group posing as landscapers have been convicted by the Changhua District Court of illegally dumping waste and given sentences of between four months and five years in jail. The three main suspects were sentenced to five years, two years and 30 months by the court. The other 18 members of the crime group, including drivers, accountants and landowners, received jail sentences ranging from four to six months, the ruling said. The verdict can be appealed. Three landscaping companies started by the defendants were also collectively fined NT$17 million (US$540,712) for violating the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物處理法). The ruling said the group rented large swaths of farmland and fish farms in Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties under the names of the landscaping companies to deal with waste they were paid to dispose of.
They rented large tractors to carry and dispose of the industrial waste, including plastic, plywood and insulation materials, while claiming it was compost. Overall, they dumped 24,086 metric tonnes of waste illegally on just over 6 hectares of farmland, affecting the normal use of the land, the ruling said. The Changhua District Prosecutors Office discovered the crime in 2022.
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
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
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