CRIME
Executive indicted over fire
Launch Technologies Co chairman Liu An-hao (劉安皓) and five other executives have been charged with negligent homicide over the deaths of 10 people in a fire on Sept. 22 last year, the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. The company was earlier fined NT$2.4 million (US$76,793) for failing to fully disclose the contents of the golf ball factory in Pingtung, including nearly 3 tonnes of illegally stored organic peroxides. Among those killed by the blaze and subsequent explosions were four firefighters, who were not provided the necessary rescue information by Launch Technologies, investigators said. The company also failed to assign a person to the site to assist the fire commander in accordance with the law, they said. Liu, along with general manager Lu Ying-cheng (呂英誠) and an assistant vice president surnamed Cheng (鄭) had been indicted on charges including causing death and injury through negligence, prosecutors said. Liu, Lu and Cheng have been ordered to post bail of NT$6 million, NT$5 million and NT$4.5 million respectively, they said.
SOCIETY
Tree trimming draws fire
Extensive trimming of a 1km stretch of Madagascar almond trees along a road in Taitung’s Luye Township (鹿野) yesterday drew criticism, although the local government defended it as necessary. Photos of the scenic roadway — known as a “green tunnel” — were widely shared in local media yesterday, showing the trees’ branches cut back into leafless knobs left barely protruding from their trunks. A farmer whose field borders the roadway said the trees needed to be periodically trimmed so they would not block crops’ access to sunlight or spread debris when a typhoon hit. “Tourism is important, but you also have to consider farmers’ livelihoods,” he said. Luye Township Mayor Lee Wei-shun (李維順) said the trees need to be cut back quite aggressively, as their roots can damage roadside gutters and pavements if they are left unchecked.
TRANSPORTATION
Taichung to add Blue Line
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said it had approved plans to build a new Blue Line on the Taichung Metro, but it would take an estimated 10 years before it is opened to the public. The new line would cost NT$161.51 billion (US$5.17 billion), with the central government providing NT$67.56 billion, the ministry said in a statement last night. The Blue Line is to begin at the Port of Taichung and travel eastward through Shalu (沙鹿) and Situn (西屯) districts before arriving in central Taichung. It will intersect with the Taichung Metro’s other existing line, the Green Line, and provide a major boost to the system’s service capacity and the balanced development of the city’s urban and rural sectors, the ministry added.
EARTHQUAKES
Two quakes strike Hualien
Two earthquakes measuring 5.2 and 4.9 in magnitude struck Hualien County at 2:11am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenters of the temblors were in Hualien’s Wanrong Township (萬榮) at a depth of 5 to 13km, the Seismology Center said. The earthquakes’ intensity was highest in Hualien’s Guangfu Township (光復), where it measured a 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quakes also reached level 3 in parts of Hualien and Nantou counties, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
PUBLISHING
Benesse to limit print
Benesse, publisher of the educational children’s magazine series featuring the cartoon tiger Chiao-Hu (巧虎), yesterday issued a notice that it would stop accepting new subscriptions for its print edition from March 1. About 1.83 million families with children have subscribed to the monthly magazine since it launched in Taiwan in 1989. The decision to stop accepting new subscriptions was based primarily on changes in print-based reading habits, the evolution of educational content and in response to climate change, it said. Benesse said the magazine would continue to be published for existing subscribers, and that its other Chiao-Hu products and services in Taiwan, including learning materials, a YouTube channel, cartoon series, stage show and Taoyuan amusement park, would remain available.
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
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