TRAVEL
Bus catches fire
A bus carrying 32 people to a soccer game in Taoyuan caught fire on a freeway yesterday, the National Highway Police Bureau said, adding that no one was injured. The bus was at the 179.8km mark on National Freeway No. 3, traveling north from Tainan, when the driver pulled over at noon after noticing a problem, the bureau said. The 32 passengers also got off immediately, the bureau said, adding that they were students and teachers from Tainan Municipal Houjia Junior High School. Shortly after, a blaze broke out on the bus and the fire brigade was called, the bureau said, adding that the fire was put out by 12:10pm. While the incident caused a traffic jam for about 1km on the northbound freeway, there were no injuries, it said.
CRIME
Father to donate safety tools
The father of a 17-year-old boy who was one of the victims of a knife attack on a Taichung Mass Rapid Transit (TMRT) train earlier this week plans to donate safety equipment to the metro company. The man, identified by his name, Lu (呂), said on Friday that he is planning to raise NT$2 million (US$62,091) to purchase shields and batons to donate to the TMRT. His son sustained cuts to the chest, shoulder and arm after allegedly being attacked by a 20-year-old knife-wielding man who went on a rampage on a TMRT train at Taichung City Hall Station on Tuesday morning. Lu said his son’s condition has stabilized, but he would not be able to play basketball, which he loves, for the next three to six months. The father said he hopes the donation would help provide passengers with a means of self-defense if needed. On Friday, the TMRT said that all metro stations are equipped with shields, batons and pepper spray, while security guards carry whistles and batons.
CRIME
Suspected trafficker arrested
The Customs Administration confirmed that a woman entering Taiwan from Thailand was arrested on suspicion of wildlife trafficking, but declined to comment on media reports that she was caught with as many as 87 live animals taped to her body. Taipei Customs said the 64-year-old suspect arrived in Taiwan on a flight from Thailand with a friend on May 19. As the woman had a previous record of live animal smuggling, she was searched at customs, where live animals were found, the office said. Local media reports said the woman was arrested with 87 live animals, including protected species and four types of monkeys, taped to her body. The species confiscated by authorities included a Sunda slow loris, common marmoset, Senegal bushbaby, Asian barred owlet, green iguana, Nile monitor, Indian star tortoise, Mekong snail-eating turtle and an elongated tortoise, the reports said.
TRADE
US cherries rejected
Three shipments of red cherries imported from the US have been rejected at Taiwan’s border for containing the banned substance mefentrifluconazole, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said. The three batches of US red cherries, totaling 2.34 tonnes, were seized after being found to contain mefentrifluconazole — a conazole fungicide permitted for use in pears and apples, but not cherries — at a rate ranging from 0.05ppm to 0.17ppm, the FDA said. FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said it is the first case this year of substandard cherries from the US being identified. The FDA is to begin conducting shipment-by-shipment inspections on all cherries imported by the three companies.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
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