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.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to