SOCIETY
Theaters get bomb threats
Several movie theaters have received bomb threats for showing a documentary on a government-run organ harvesting operation in China, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Wednesday. The theaters received e-mails saying they would place bombs or shoot their premises if they did not stop showing the documentary State Organs: Unmasking Transplant Abuse in China, the bureau said. The CIB said the e-mails were sent from an overseas IP that used a VPN proxy. Theaters in Taichung, Kaohsiung, Yilan and Pingtung counties, and a Taipei media outlet received e-mails of this nature, the CIB said. It did not identify the individual locations. No bombs have been found so far in any of the movie theaters that have received the threats, the CIB said, adding that local police have stepped up their monitoring of the areas and kept in contact with the businesses. Sending bomb threats is a crime, the bureau said, citing the Criminal Code. The documentary was directed by Raymond Zhang (章勇進) and follows the story of two families in China embarking on a perilous 20-year journey that eventually uncovers a government-run organ harvesting operation.
SECURITY
Chinese fishing boat seized
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Wednesday said it had seized a Chinese fishing boat and its nine crew members, after the vessel was found inside the nation’s restricted waters. The incident happened on Tuesday near Cimei Township (七美) in Penghu County. Images released by the CGA showed its ship pursuing the fishing boat and its personnel boarding the vessel, where they found about 1 tonne of fish. The CGA said it had broadcast warnings and deployed a water cannon during its pursuit of the vessel. The fishing boat was taken to Cimei port on Wednesday and an investigation is underway. “We urge the public to report any sightings of unauthorized Chinese fishing vessels ... as part of a continued effort to safeguard national security and development of marine resources,” CGA personnel in Penghu said.
AGRICULTURE
Damages reach NT$498mn
Agricultural crop and equipment losses from Typhoon Krathon reached NT$498.6 million (US$15.5 million) as of Wednesday, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Southern Taiwan was ravaged by strong winds and heavy rains brought by Krathon, which killed four and injured 719 last week, with banana, guava and wax apple crops most severely hit. Pingtung County was hit the hardest, accounting for 59 percent (NT$295.45 million) of the total agricultural losses. That was followed by Kaohsiung, which incurred 22 percent (NT$110.79 million) of the total losses, while Taitung County also reported losses of NT$36.94 million, or 7 percent of the total. About 5,782 hectares of agricultural land were impacted, with a damage level of about 20 percent, which translates to an “unharvested area” of 1,183 hectares. In addition to losses from crop damage amounting to NT$378.23 million, privately owned agriculture-related infrastructure worth NT$112.89 million was also impacted, of which NT$44.84 million were losses of agriculturally viable land, NT$15.58 million were from damaged agricultural facilities such as horizontal trellises and greenhouses, NT$17.93 million were related to livestock facilities and NT$34.53 million were from fisheries equipment.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
RSS