CRIME
Gold factories raided
Two factories allegedly dumped toxic waste from gold refining operations in mountainous areas, the New Taipei City Government said on Tuesday, adding that authorities seized about NT$70 million (US$2.2 million) of half-finished gold products. The New Taipei City Environmental Protection Department earlier this year said it received a tip-off alleging that a factory in a mountainous area of Linkou District (林口) had used nitric acid to extract gold from waste materials such as printed circuit boards and dental crowns. After the refining, the factory dumped the toxic nitric acid waste, the department said. The waste contained heavy metals such as copper, nickel and chromium, and plants withered where it was dumped, it said. The department, police and prosecutors formed a task force led by the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office, it said. The investigation found that a factory in Hsinchu County’s Sinpu Township (新埔) had also allegedly released toxic waste. The task force searched the Sinpu factory on June 4 and the New Taipei City site on Sept. 3. The June 4 raid showed that toxic waste was being released into a mountainous area, the department said. Four people were arrested, it said.
POLITICS
Students discuss democracy
A US non-governmental organization in Taipei on Tuesday hosted a forum for young people, at which dozens of students shared their observations of Taiwan’s democratic system. The Polarization and Reconciliation: Youth Forum on Democratic Resilience was organized by the International Republican Institute in cooperation with the Central News Agency (CNA). The participants, most of whom were undergraduate or postgraduate students, exchanged views on events that have divided Taiwanese society, such as the recent passage of amendments to government oversight laws and the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2019. The future of the amendments, pushed through by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party lawmakers at the end of May despite the disagreements of Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers, now hinge on a ruling by the Constitutional Court. Those events and the reaction to them reflected the polarization of Taiwan’s politics and society, which CNA editor-in-chief Chris Wang (王思捷) attributed in part to the effects of “politainment.” Politicians are increasingly using dramatic methods to communicate their agendas or undermine their rivals, which the media amplify through extensive coverage, Wang said. Tuesday’s event was part of the Washington-based International Republican Institute’s program to foster discussion on democracy among young people in Taiwan, said Loa Lok-sin (賴昱伸), a program manager at the institute’s Taiwan office.
CRIME
Taiwanese arrested in Seoul
A Taiwanese woman has been arrested in South Korea and faces extradition to China for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a Chinese and an American in the Philippines in June. The Criminal Investigation Bureau on Tuesday said that the suspect, identified by her surname, Chen (陳), is a 44-year-old Taiwanese who was born in Taipei. Chinese media firm Red Star News on Monday reported that Chen — initially referred to as Lee Na (李娜) — would be extradited to China after being arrested in Seoul. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would assist in handling matters related to the extradition case, the bureau said.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
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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