CRIME
Fugitive killed in Bangkok
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said that a man found shot dead in an abandoned shop near Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok was a fugitive wanted by Taiwanese authorities. The man was identified as 44-year-old Shih Mou-chiang (石茂強), CIB International Criminal Affairs Division head Lee Kun-ta (李昆達) said, adding that the bureau verified his fingerprints using information Thai police gave to CIB liaison officers in Thailand. Taiwanese authorities had no record of when Shih departed Taiwan, as he left illegally, Lee said. Shih was wanted in Taiwan on suspicion of contravening the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例), as well as robbery and causing injuries in a traffic incident. Shih might not have been killed where his body was found, Lee said. The bureau would maintain close contact with Thai police, who have identified some potential suspects, Lee said. Thai media reports said the body of an unknown man with three bullet wounds to the head was discovered by a cleaner near Suvarnabhumi Airport, along with a pair of gloves and 500kg of ketamine. After photographs published by Thai media showed the Chinese character “羅” (“lo”) tattooed on one of his arms, a local tattoo artist told police that the dead man could have been from Taiwan.
SOCIETY
Taipei book fair numbers up
The annual Taipei International Book Exhibition recorded about 550,000 visits during its six-day run, which ended on Sunday, up 9 percent from a year earlier, said the Taipei Book Fair Foundation, which organized the event. The increase in visitors was driven in part by the high number of young people who attended, encouraged by the government’s “Culture Points” program, which offers NT$1,200 e-vouchers for culture-related activities and products to people aged 16 to 22, foundation chairman Chao Cheng-ming (趙政岷) said. The foundation said that 358 school groups, including about 11,600 students and teachers, visited the book fair. The number of on-site events and activities increased 43 percent from last year to 1,162, it added. The exhibition, held at the Taipei World Trade Center, also attracted 262 international publishers and 266 international copyright agents, and hosted 61 foreign authors, the foundation said. Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) said there was a 185 percent increase in copyright-related meetings at this year’s fair. Such meetings, as well as government programs to subsidize translations, play an important role in getting Taiwanese books published abroad, he said.
TRAVEL
Tigerair to fly to Phu Quoc
Tigerair Taiwan is on April 2 to launch a new direct service between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc, as part of its efforts to expand into the Southeast Asian market. The low-cost carrier said in a statement that it would initially offer three round-trip flights between the two destinations every week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Flight IT557 bound for Phu Quoc would take off at 2:40pm from Taoyuan airport, while flight IT558 bound for Taoyuan would leave Phu Quoc at 6:25pm, the statement said. To celebrate the new route, special fares would be offered starting today, the airline said. Phu Quoc, which is off the coast of Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand, is known for its scenic beaches and resorts, as well as its locally made fish sauce, pepper plantations and pearl farms. The island also allows visa-free entry for up to 30 days.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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