CRIME
Former spokesman indicted
Prosecutors on Thursday indicted former Cabinet spokesman Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) for allegedly trading political favors for sex while serving in the Tainan City Government more than a decade ago. The Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office said it would seek a harsh punishment for Chen, including removing his civil rights, due to his uncooperative demeanor during the investigation. Wiretaps and witness testimony showed that Chen had paid multiple times for sexual encounters with hostesses working for a club operator surnamed Wang (王) in 2012 and 2013, prosecutors said. Despite closing an initial investigation in August 2015, citing a lack of evidence, prosecutors reopened their probe into Chen in February last year following a new complaint against him. Chen on Thursday maintained his innocence, saying there was no evidence against him and that he would seek to clear his name in court. Chiou Jiunn-yann (邱駿彥), head of the Democratic Progressive Party’s anti-corruption committee, said that a meeting is to be held on Aug. 27 to discuss how to deal with Chen.
DEFENSE
Suicide drone in the works
The Military News Agency on Thursday released footage of a suicide drone that is under development. The clip showed a soldier operating a quadcopter, or quadrotor, uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) via remote control to destroy a car and a ship by crashing into them. A voiceover on the footage states: “The armed forces are actively working closely with domestic and international partners to develop small UAVs to meet the nation’s defensive needs.” Through military exercises, “these UAVs are being tested to prove their excellent capabilities and the results of training,” the narrator said, adding that “in the future, [the armed forces] would be working with domestic UAV supply chains to construct reliable defensive capabilities [for the nation].” The suicide drone is still under development by the navy and has not been officially commissioned, a source said. The 30-second clip is part of more than seven minutes of footage that the agency filmed on several rounds of live-fire exercises in April to test the precision shooting capabilities of its missiles and rockets.
CROSS-STRAIT
Spies claim untrue: MAC
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday said that China’s claim of detecting more than 1,000 cases of espionage by Taiwanese spies was a means of achieving “goals” set by top Chinese authorities. If the Chinese authorities’ claim is not a boast, then it suggests that they are abusing their power to detain people, MAC Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. He was referring to an article published on Tuesday on the social media account of the Chinese Ministry of State Security, which said that its authorities had “uncovered more than 1,000 cases of espionage by Taiwanese spies,” without providing any details. A large number of espionage networks established by Taiwanese spies in China have been destroyed, while “Taiwan independence leaders,” such as Yang Chih-yuan (楊智淵) have being arrested, it said. Liang said the approach taken by the Chinese Communist Party over the years has been very simple, with top authorities setting certain targets and subordinates working to achieve those “goals.” “Historically, whether it is the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward or others, it has always been the same [approach],” Liang added. Regarding Yang’s arrest, Liang said the MAC has been in contact with his family and has “a better understanding of his current situation,” but cannot disclose any detailed information, as it has to respect his family’s wishes. Liang said Yang’s political stance has often been fluid, aligning sometimes with the Democratic Progressive Party and at other times with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which means it is difficult to categorize his views. “Before his arrest, he was teaching Go in China and participating in some Go competitions,” Liang said. “It is quite absurd that someone like him can be labeled as a leading advocate of Taiwanese independence, just to achieve those [Chinese] ‘goals.’”
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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